On Manipulation and Blackmail
by Nebilas
Summary: It was the last week of high school. The last thing Adrien had expected was his father telling him he was leaving for America. In a week. For the first time, Adrien seriously considers telling his father no, but Gabriel has ways of making him cooperate... M for violence, abuse, eventual lemons. Adrinette.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: BOOM guess who just figured out how to do the page space thing? I did. Like a boss Go ahead laugh I know silly Nebilas blah blah. But I got it dammit. Be proud. Regardless. Welcome to this story! Don't really know what else to say about it. I hope you like it!_

 _Oh I remember just so you know this story is rated M for a reason. (Yes lemons I hear some of you shouting excitedly) but also there will be some dark sequences later on. And actually right now. I guess I'll post warnings before each chapter. Like this next sentence._

 ** _Warnings: Abuse_**

 _There you go that should do it. Enjoy having your heart torn to shreds I mean... Um... Carry on._

 _Until Next Time!_

 _~Nebilas~_

* * *

Adrien staggered out of his father's office clutching his cheek. He snagged Plagg who was so angry he had leapt out of Adrien's pocket and was trying very hard to get into Gabriel Agreste's office so he could give him a piece of his mind. Adrien knew that would only make his situation astronomically worse and just dragged the floating kwami by the tail into his room. He shut the door behind him and locked it. Plagg huffed and stalked off to his bed.

Adrien leaned against his door and slid down, tucking his chin in between his knees and folding his arms around them. He sighed and looked up at the ceiling, not really sure what to do. He had two days of high school left. According to his father he would be leaving about two weeks later. And as far as Adrien could tell, his father had no intention of bringing him back anytime soon.

 _Why did I bother arguing?_ He thought bitterly. He should have known his father would shoot him down and even then he had pushed the issue. Because truth be told, Adrien didn't want to leave Paris. Not at all. As much as he hated Agreste Manor he loved the city that he lived in.

He forced himself to stand up and prepared himself for school, going into the bathroom and glancing into the mirror. His father's handprint was still there, but Adrien knew it would fade. He began to change, exiting the bathroom and tossing the shirt he'd put on into a laundry basket. He began browsing through his shirts, deciding what to wear. He grabbed a blue one but frowned when he noticed it had the American flag on it. He shook his head.

 _America. What have I done to deserve this?_ He thought bitterly. _I've been his fucking poster child for the past twelve years, and right before I turn eighteen, 'You're going to America.' No 'Hello Adrien! How did you sleep? How do you feel about going to America? You don't want to? Oh okay.'_ Plagg chose this moment to make his opinion vocal while chewing angrily on some camembert.

"I give you full permission to go cataclysmic on his ass." Plagg said loudly. Adrien ignored him. "Come on you can't let him do this to you kid. Kid listen to me." He floated in front of his chosen. "You need to do something."

"Plagg I've had worse." Adrien said rolling his eyes.

"Stuff it kid, I know for a fact about a third of those scars are _not_ from when you were Chat Noir." Adrien dropped a shirt in he had grabbed in shock and glanced down at his bare chest guiltily. Small strips of scar tissue could be found almost anywhere on him. Plagg's eyes flew open. He had been completely guessing but Adrien's guilty expression cemented it in his mind. "He _has_ been abusing you!" Plagg shrieked.

"Plagg please it's not a big deal-"

"The hell it isn't!" Plagg said angrily. "How long?" Adrien glanced away guiltily. " _How long?"_ Plagg asked dangerously.

"Since Mom passed." Adrien muttered. Plagg was beside himself.

"Eight years?" he screeched. "Why the _hell_ didn't you _tell_ me?"

"I've never told anyone." Adrien mumbled, rubbing his arm, any thoughts of looking for a shirt forgotten. Plagg stopped.

"Nobody knows?" Adrien shook his head. Plagg was reeling. Adrien had always said his father wasn't great, and borderline neglectful, but this… This was beyond anything Plagg had even suspected until recently.

"Look Plagg it's fine. I'm used to it by now." Adrien said, turning around and selecting a black shirt.

"Adrien… That isn't a good thing." Adrien paused before putting his shirt on.

"I know. But that's how it is."

"What about the police?" Adrien sighed and pulled down his waistband a bit to show Plagg a particularly vicious looking scar on his left hipbone.

"Tried that once. Unfortunately he had made a rather large donation to the police force and they weren't exactly thrilled with the idea. Long story short Dad found out and this happened."

"When was this?" Plagg whispered.

"Month before I met you." Adrien said, voice casual.

"Adrien stop trying to make this out like it isn't a big deal. That's bull. I know you love him because he's your father and you don't want to lose him... " Plagg came to a startling realization. " _That's why you won't tell Marinette how you feel!"_ He shrieked pointing a paw at Adrien accusingly. Adrien winced at the accusation, which was 100 percent true.

 _Marinette…_ Somehow the bluenette had managed to worm her way into his heart without even trying. Once she had gotten over her stutter around him, they had been able to start talking, and they talked all the time now. His visits to her as Chat had also become more frequent, and while she claimed to be annoyed by his appearances, he could see the pleasure in her eyes. His feelings had grown astronomically over the span of the previous summer, and he had finally admitted to himself (and Plagg albeit grudgingly) his feelings for his classmate.

But every time he wanted to tell her how he felt, he panicked. Something held him back. And he knew what it was. He was terrified of another rejection. Another person he loved turning their back on him. His mother had died, leaving him with his father, who immediately turned his back on him, and Adrien wasn't sure if he could survive a rejection from his best friend. So that's how he kept their relationship, hoping his feelings would become more of a friendship love. But the more he had tried to do this, it almost seemed to become worse. In fact the only thing this had accomplished was him accepting that he would never be with Ladybug. He had now long accepted she was now only a friend and partner. A friend he loved but no more than that. But with Marinette… There was a point about three weeks ago when everything had almost changed. When he had almost slipped.

" _Bye guys!" Mari laughed. Alya and Nino waved back and ran off, trying to catch up to the rest of the Cesaire family. Adrien smiled at the bluenette, his heart hammering in his chest. Now was the perfect opportunity. He could tell her how he really felt. But he didn't want to risk it. He couldn't. He sighed and sat down on a nearby park bench."You okay Adrien?" Mari asked, plopping down next to him._

" _I'm fine." he assured her. "Just some stuff on my mind."_

" _Like what?" Mari asked._

" _Like I lo-" Adrien froze. He hadn't meant to say that out loud. He had almost said I love you._

" _What?" Mari asked, giggling at the abrupt halt in conversation._

" _Nothing. Just thoughts." He said nervously._

" _I know the feeling." Mari sighed. Adrien glanced at her, relaxing a bit. She hadn't picked up on it. Wait was she… Blushing? His heart jolted a bit with newfound hope. Maybe… He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. 'No. Don't take this chance.' Suddenly Marinette turned to him. "Adrien… Can I be honest with you for a moment?" Adrien cocked an eyebrow but nodded. "I…" She suddenly looked very nervous._

" _Take your time Mari." Adrien said with a smile. Mari nodded and took a deep breath._

 _Which was when an explosion ripped through the park completely killing the conversation._

Adrien frowned. The memory still made him angry. It of course had been an akuma forcing him to hide Mari then transform. She had been about to tell him something, but every time he asked her about it now, she flushed red and changed the topic. It was not the first time this had happened and in fact, Chloe had interrupted Marinette telling him something or other several times. He had started to hope it was her about to confess but he had no proof and being the coward he was… He let it sit there. He turned his attention back to his Kwami who was glaring at him.

"Well it doesn't matter now does it Plagg? I'm leaving Paris." Adrien said grumbling tossing a stray pencil into his bag as he entered his room. Plagg sighed knowing his chosen had a point. But he knew how much Adrien cared for the girl, watching their relationship blossom from afar. He watched as his chosen packed up his bag with a frown. If anyone deserved to be happy it was Adrien. He shook his head and moved down to join his chosen. Adrien picked up his bag and Plagg entered it. Adrien glanced into the mirror as he passed it. The handprint was fading. It would be gone by the time he got to school.

XxXxXxXx

Marinette Dupain-Cheng took her Kwami seriously. Which was why when Tikki told her that Plagg was livid, Mari was concerned. She wondered if Chat had done something to piss off his Kwami. Chat had on several occasions asked her what she'd done to make Tikki "So damn happy" because Plagg had commented on it.

Tikki had explained that they couldn't really talk to each other but they could feel emotions. So now that she said Plagg was angry... Marinette wondered what had happened.

"Do you know why?" Mari questioned. Tikki shook her head regretfully.

"I just know that he is. I hope Chat hasn't done something to make him angry." Mari nodded in assent. She focused on her bag again and frowned, knowing she was missing something. She realized her sketchbook was across the room and she retrieved it and added it to her bag. She slung it over her shoulder and opened her trapdoor as Tikki flew into her pocket and disappeared from view.

"Good morning Mari!" her mother greeted with a smile.

"Morning Mom." Mari said returning the smile. She glanced around. "Is dad making a delivery?"

"Yes. He'll be back later." Sabine said, moving around the corner and fetching a plate of eggs for Mari along with a glass of juice. Mari smiled warmly and took it to the table where she say and began to eat. Sabine was staring at her from across the table.

"Yges mahgm?" Mari swallowed her food as her mother's lip twitched upwards. "Yes Mom?"

"Your last year of high school is almost over." Mari nodded, unsure of where this conversation was going. "And you have grown into a remarkable young woman." Mari flushed at the praise. "However, I have noticed one thing that has not changed in the past three years." Mari frowned, trying to think of what her mother was talking about. "Your crush on Adrien dear." Mari immediately turned even redder and drank too much juice, making her cough. Once she recovered from her coughing fit, she tried to formulate a response.

"I… Well… Yeah." she said lamely. Sabine smiled.

"And as far as I can tell from when he's here, he feels the same about you." Mari was sure her jaw was hanging on the floor. "But I highly doubt he will be willing to tell you. He's afraid of losing you." she explained as Mari made a confused expression. "And your time is running out. I think you should tell him."

Mari could not believe this. Tikki had always encouraged her and her mother always listened when she needed to talk about it but this was the first time Adrien had been brought up in this kind of conversation by someone other than herself. She swallowed.

"I've tried though Mom. Something always gets in the way. An Akuma, a rainstorm, Adrien's bodyguard, Adrien's manager, and Chloe on three separate occasions." She said, sad and a little bitter.

"Try one last time Marinette. Tie him down if you have to. Tell him how you feel. And if he says yes maybe you can leave him tied up."

"MOTHER!" Mari screeched, burning red at the implication. She promptly wolfed down the rest of her breakfast trying to avoid eye contact. Sabine merely watched with an expression of amusement. Once she left (it had felt like hours but had really been about five minutes) Tikki popped out of her bag.

"Even your mother wants you to get some." she teased. Marinette was in a foul mood on her walk to school.

XxXxXxXx

Adrien was glad to be away from his house today. Another confrontation was not something he wanted quite yet. Fortunately, despite everything he wasn't in a terrible mood and Alya had just sat down behind him. Adrien sighed and reclined in his chair coming face to face with Alya, though she did appear to be upside down.

"Hullo Alya!" he said with a grin.

"Hey Blondie. Having fun there?" Adrien nodded serenely, making Alya laugh.

"A lovely time. Um have you seen Mari today? I need to talk to her." Adrien asked, feeling his nerves start to come back into play.

"Ooooh what do you want to talk to her about?" Alya asked, her reporter senses tingling.

"Nothing." Adrien said, turning pink.

"Your cheeks say otherwise. But regardless she just entered the room." she grinned pointing at the door. Adrien snapped his head up and waved casually at her with a smile. _Why does she look so nervous?_ He wondered as she walked over to him.

"Um… A-Adrien can we talk after school?" Adrien raised his eyebrows. She hadn't stuttered around him in forever. _What could she want to talk about?_

"Yeah sure!" he said with a smile. "My locker?" Mari nodded and smiled back.

"Thanks." she moved up the stairs to join Alya at their table. Nino entered the room a few minutes later, about thirty seconds before the bell rang. He quickly ran up to Adrien and they tapped fists before he sank into his chair.

"That was close." Nino said, relaxing. He leaned back so he was looking at the girls and Adrien joined him.

"Hey babe." Nino said, wiggling his eyebrows at Alya.

"You two are dorks." Marinette giggled.

"And proud of it." Adrien grinned. The bell rang, signalling the start of class and Ms. Bustier walked in, closing the door behind her. Class began, but neither Mari or Adrien could focus, and unfortunately for the two of them, the problem persisted throughout the day.

Mari couldn't draw to save her life that day, and Adrien kept dropping things, which he never did. Alya and Nino did not miss this and Alya had actually wriggled the truth out of Mari and the two were waiting in anticipation of what was going to happen. Nino had no doubt Adrien would say yes but Alya was nervous for Marinette.

The final bell rang and Adrien stood up slowly. He prolonged his walk down the hall towards his locker, wondering what Mari could want to talk about. He was grateful that Chloe had decided not to show up for school. She had a habit of interrupting moments between he and Marinette. He reached his locker and collected the few things he needed for the night and he waited. He swallowed nervously when Mari finally turned the corner.

For her part, Mari thought she was holding herself together pretty well. When she turned the corner, half of her brain screamed that this was a terrible idea while the other half egged her on. She took deep calming breaths as she walked, trying not to panic. _You can do this. Just tell him how you feel._ She told herself.

 _You can do this. Just don't blurt out how you feel and you'll survive._ Adrien told himself. He saw her smile shyly and brush a stray hair away from her forehead. He froze. _I can't do this. God why does she have to be so cute._

"Hey." Mari said quietly.

"Hi." Adrien said trying to be casual. He shut his locker and gave her a smile. She seemed to take encouragement from this and smiled back. "So.. What did you want to talk about?"

"Do you remember three weeks ago when I asked if I could be honest with you?" Adrien nodded and she took a deep breath. "It's about that." She looked up at Adrien who nodded, still smiling. "I…" She looked like she might throw up.

"Hey Mari relax. It's okay." Adrien instructed, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Breathe. But try to tell me before an akuma strikes this time." This at least elicited a small laugh from the bluenette, making his heart throb. He loved that laugh. She stayed silent for about five seconds when she looked him in the eyes.

"I love you." Adrien's world stopped. He staggered backwards a step and his back hit a locker. _This is my luck._ He thought in shock. Adrien had not seen this coming. Not really. He had certainly imagined it happening, but deep down he had always assumed he was interpreting her actions the way he wanted to see them. And now it turned out that she held the same feelings as he did.

 _But of course it had to be now._ He thought, starting to feel numb. _Nine hours after my father tells me I'm leaving the country, probably forever._ Adrien shook his head back in forth in dismay and heard a gasp. His eyes flew open and he met Marinette's eyes, whose eyes were starting to fill with tears.

"So… No?" She whispered. Adrien can't stand another second looking into her crystal blue eyes and pulls her into a hug. He feels tears in his own eyes.

"Marinette… I would love nothing more than to say yes." His heart felt heavy with the weight of his next words. "But I'm leaving France. My dad told me today. He's moving me to America." He felt her freeze before she jolted out of his embrace and stared at him eyes wide.

"What? No…" Adrien's heart promptly fell into pieces at the despair he saw on her face. She was struggling to keep the tears at bay. "When will you be back?" Adrien shut his eyes. He couldn't do this to himself or her. He couldn't see her cry.

"If things go the way my father wants them to… Not for the foreseeable future." He opened his eyes again and found Mari standing there looking shellshocked. She had wrapped her arms around herself. She was on the verge of tears. Adrien crossed the space between them and pulled her into another embrace. This was too much for Mari and she burst into tears, sobbing into Adrien's shirt.

Neither noticed two Kwamis peer out of their bags and look at their chosens, heartbreak etched across their faces as well.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Marinette was not okay. She had ignored all texts from Alya and Nino, and couldn't really see herself answering until she completely pulled herself together. The transcript of their conversation echoed in her mind on repeat and she wasn't entirely sure how to react. She knew what she wanted to do certainly. She had a list.

 _1) Make Adrien stay in Paris_

 _2) Transform into Ladybug_

 _3) Break into Agreste Manor_

 _4) Tie up Gabriel Agreste with her yoyo_

 _5) Use him as a punching bag_

 _6) Sweep Adrien out of the manor like a badass_

Unfortunately, the list that would most likely come into action was much less appealing.

 _1)Cry about Adrien leaving Paris_

 _2) Let Tikki console me over Adrien leaving Paris_

 _3) Avoid Mom's gaze as long as possible_

 _4) Patrol with Chat Noir_

 _5) Cry about Adrien leaving Paris_

 _6) Cry to Alya about Adrien leaving Paris_

 _7) Pretend to be okay for a few weeks until I stumble upon a picture in my phone of the two of us and cry all over again._

Adrien had offered to walk her home, but she wasn't sure she would be able to look at him without bursting into tears again, and frankly, he had looked about as distraught as she had. They had walked to the front of the school, embraced, but then The Gorilla had shown up and told Adrien his father had added another photo shoot for that evening. Marinette had fought off tears as he had driven away, and had walked home, oblivious and unfeeling. She had heard Tikki trying to talk to her, but hadn't really processed the words and wasn't ready to put in the effort _to_ process them.

She finally reached the bakery and quickly disappeared up the stairs to her room, closing the trapdoor behind her. She crashed onto her bed, staring up at the ceiling. She stared at it blankly, blocking out the world around her, trying to let herself pretend the world was okay. She distantly felt Tikki cuddling against her cheek, murmuring something. Most likely words of encouragement.

She also heard a distant chiming noise and registered that she had received a text message. After a few moments she worked up the courage to pick up her phone. A few minutes after that she actually looked at the message. She sighed at the other messages from Alya and Nino. This one had come from the small group chat of the four, Adrien being the sender.

 _We all need to talk. I don't know when works best for everyone, so let me know._

Alya swept in immediately, as the girl was always on her phone.

 _Why what happened? Mari won't respond. I will kick your ass Agreste._

 _Yeah and you've been ignoring mine too Adrien what's up? -Nino_

 _Guys please just… Let me know when you can. Sooner the better. -Adrien_

 _Now -Alya_

 _Babe be reasonable -Nino_

 _Can't otherwise I would. Another shoot today -Adrien_

 _:3 I will get to the bottom of this. How does tomorrow at lunch sound? -Alya_

 _Works for me. -Adrien_

 _Ditto -Nino_

 _Sure -Mari_

 _You're alive! -Alya_

 _What the hell happened? Tell meeeee -Alya_

Mari wasn't sure how to respond to that, but Adrien was nice enough to cut in.

 _Tomorrow. -Adrien_

 _Fine. -Alya_

With that the conversation ended, and Mari opened Alya and Nino's texts without responding to them. She sighed and moved over to her desk, picking up a sketchbook. After ten minutes she realized she hadn't drawn anything and sighed resignedly, putting it away. She was going to get nothing done. She leaned back in her chair and stared at the ceiling again, cursing herself.

 _If I had just told him how I felt earlier we could have had time together._ The minute she had this thought Tikki floated into her field of view.

"Stop that." Tikki admonished.

"Stop what?" Mari asked.

"Blaming yourself for any of this. This is _not_ on you in any way shape or form. You finally told him and he would have said yes but he doesn't want you to wait for someone who might never be allowed to come back." Mari sighed, knowing her Kwami had a point.

"How did you know I was blaming myself?" Mari asked.

"You were wearing your 'it's all my fault' face." Mari cocked an eyebrow at this but didn't respond.

"We might as well head out for patrol." Mari said, rising. "Chat is usually early anyways, and I need a distraction. Spots on!" Mari transformed and leapt out of her window. She breathed deeply as she ran, trying to relax for the night ahead. She would be nearly thirty minutes early but she wanted to be in the open. She wanted to be the superhero Paris loved, so she could escape the reality of her other life, if for just a few hours.

To her immense surprise, she still wasn't at their meeting spot first. Chat was already there, sitting on the edge of the roof watching the sun descend.

"Hey kitty!" She said with overplayed, yet genuine happiness. Lately the cat had been able to cheer her up immensely, and while she wouldn't tell him (At least not for now) she had started to anticipate and hope for visits from the leather clad hero. However tonight when Chat turned around, she knew something was very very wrong. His normally luminous green eyes seemed dimmer than they usually were and the playful light that was ever present was strangely missing. She almost took a step back but regained her composure quickly.

"Chat… Are you okay?" Chat could only shake his head. She could see tears begin to form in his eyes and she moved over to him. "Chat what's wrong? Talk to me." Chat began taking deep breaths, trying to keep his tears at bay.

"Sorry LB… I've just had a really shitty day."

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked softly.

"I don't want to bother you my lady."

"Well you wouldn't be bothering me because I asked." she pointed out. Chat didn't even smile and just stared off into nothing for a few minutes.

"There's a lot my lady. Um… I had to reject someone today. And it hurt. It hurt so badly, I wanted nothing more than to say yes. She said she loved me and I love her too but I couldn't say yes." Marinette sighed, feeling tears come to her own eyes. She had basically gone through the same thing and was about to tell him so when "It's all my fault. If I had told her sooner how I felt and hadn't been such a coward, maybe we could've had time together."

"Chat why can't you be with her?" Ladybug asked softly.

"That's the other thing." he took a shaky breath. "I'm leaving France."

For the second time that day Mari felt her world crumble around her. She felt tears coming. This couldn't be possible. She couldn't lose the two most important men in her life the same day.

"My father is moving me to America." Mari's world stopped. It stopped crumbling, but it sure as hell wasn't repairing itself. It all just stopped. She stared at Chat Noir as puzzle pieces started to fit themselves together in her mind. Similarities between Chat and Adrien became so crystal clear she wondered how she'd never noticed before.

Hair color, eye color, their smirks, even the way Adrien held himself when he was completely relaxed, all virtually identical. _How did I never noticed this before?_ She thought, horror struck. She shook her head. It could still be a coincidence. She focused on Chat who sighed.

"And I'll have to tell her again. She's going to be crushed." He noticed ladybug staring at him. "I visit her as Chat pretty often too." Mari died on the inside. _Coincidence my ass. Chat is Adrien and Adrien is Chat._ She moved over and embraced Chat. He sighed and buried his head in her shoulder. _I've managed to fall for the same person twice._ She thought, not sure what to do. Which was when it truly hit her just how much she needed him to stay in Paris.

"Chat…" Her voice caught. She swallowed and tried to fend off more tears. "Please stay." she whispered. Chat looked at her, not really able to focus on her through his tears.

"My lady I would love nothing more than to listen to you." he said sadly.

"Then do. Please God listen to me. I can't do this without you." Chat looked away guiltily.

"You won't have to." Ladybug's eyes widened.

"What do you mean?" she breathed. Chat began twiddling his fingers, trying not to let his nerves show.

"I… talked to Master Fu today." Marinette stood up.

"No." she said.

"My lady-"

" _No_ Chat. Absolutely not. Nobody is replacing you." she pulled him in for another embrace and put a hand on his cheek before looking him in the eyes. "You are my Chat Noir I refuse to have anyone replace you. Not now not ever." Chat glanced at her with a shaky smile.

"Well you won't have to worry about that for a good while. I don't have to give up my miraculous." He reassured her. This did appease ladybug a bit but she wasn't thrilled to say the least. She was still too stunned by the whole Adrien was Chat thing to have a proper reaction. She snapped herself out of her funk and tried to have a normal reaction.

"So who will the next person be then?" Chat only shook his head in response.

"He wouldn't tell me. He seemed a little sad but he didn't seem surprised that I was leaving. But he said that the latest would be about a week from now. So I should be able to meet them before I leave."

Mari could only nod. There were those words again. _Before I leave._ She let her eyes drop in order to not show the sadness they contained. She hated those words. The fact that Chat/Adrien was leaving was really sinking in and she was feeling numb all over again. Chat pulled her in again and she just held him for a few moments, trying to stay strong. She was Ladybug after all. She needed to pretend she'd be fine. The crying could wait until she got home. She wasn't sure if she could complete a patrol tonight though. Fortunately it seemed like Chat was having the same thought process.

"Maybe patrol is a bad idea." Chat murmured.

"You're probably right." Ladybug said taking a shaky breath. "I'll see you tomorrow?" Chat could only nod. Ladybug quickly took off across the rooftops, not trusting herself to look back. She knew Chat was going to come visit her as Mari. She just didn't know when. She hoped he took a little while. If he did she could pretend that ladybug told her so she didn't have to pretend not to be shocked when he told her.

Her luck managed to hold despite how terrible the day had been so far and Chat showed up two hours later with a rose. She had long prepared what she wanted to say, being careful so as not to hurt him, but all of that flew out the window as he entered from the balcony.

"Evening princess." He said with a smile as he landed next to her on the balcony.

"Don't." She whispered. He stopped immediately.

"She told you." He said. It wasn't a question.

"In tears." She whispered. "Why the hell can't you stay?"

"My father-"

"No look at me Chat. _Look at me."_ Chat forced himself to look into her eyes. He winced when he saw how bloodshot her eyes were. She had clearly been crying. "Tell me why you're leaving." He averted his eyes again. She grabbed his face and forced him to face her again. "Tell me."

"I'm scared." He whispered.

"Why?" He tried to look away again but she didn't let him.

"I can't answer that." He finally decided.

"The hell you can't."

"Mari you don't understand, I actually can't." He said, voice pleading.

"Is this about your identity? Is that why you can't tell me?" Chat shook his head.

"That would make this about fifty times easier to explain actually."

"Then. Tell. Me." She growled.

"Marinette no."

"Are you scared of your emotions?"

"What?" Chat looked taken aback by the question. "No of course not."

"Are you scared of your father?" He twitched and didn't answer. "That's a yes. Why?" He glanced away. "And that's what you can't tell me. See how easy that was?"

"Don't mock me." Chat snarled.

"Then resist your father."

"I can't."

"Why not? Come on you're Chat Noir kick his ass." Mari knew she was pushing her boundaries but she wanted a reaction. Chat's ring beeped but she didn't care. She wasn't letting him leave. "You are not going _anywhere."_ She growled. "Come on Chat do _something._ Be the Chat Noir the city believes in or is that all a front? I wonder if the kitty is really just a scared little cat on the inside, too scared to fight. How you've ever been a help to Ladybug I'll never know."

Mari could have sworn she felt the temperature in the room drop as Chat's gaze suddenly turned icy. She took a step back and watched as what she had just said replayed in his head. He was pissed. Scratch that. He was livid. And he had every right to be. He refocused his gaze on her, and she had a strong desire to go hide in a corner.

"How dare you." He snarled. "How _fucking dare you."_ He began to walk toward her, his face contorted in fury. "You think that I want to do nothing? You think that after years of neglect and abuse I don't want to get out? You really think I want nothing more than to tell my father to fuck off and stay in Paris? _I literally can't._ Because if I do, I don't actually have any money to my name because I'm not 18 and all the money I've made has gone to him. He'll disown me, which I would have no problem with if that was all he would do. But it's _not_ all he'll do. Because he will follow me wherever I go. He will make sure my life is a miserable hell no matter what I do. If I get a job? He'll make sure I get fired. New apartment? Application denied. If the person in charge won't cave he'll shut the whole place down. If I moved in with one of my friends, he'd take down their lives as well as mine. _That is the only reason I didn't leave years ago._ " He had reached her and was inches away from her face. Mari held her breath as she watched the anger in his eyes start to fade to be replaced by one of despair.

"I'm not afraid for _me_ Marinette. I could care less what the repercussions to me would be. I'm afraid for everyone I love." He took a breath and Mari felt her heart crumble as she saw the tears in his eyes. "Which is why I said no to you today. It was the hardest thing I've ever had to do but if he found out I had a girlfriend… Everything you and your parents had ever worked for… Gone in a heartbeat."

Mari felt tears come to her eyes as she realized Adrien had told her his secret. Despite the fact she'd figured it out herself a few hours before, that he willingly told her made her love him even more if that was even possible.

"Adrien." She whispered. He nodded and looked at her nervously, dreading her reaction. She smiled, tears rolling down her face. "I love you too you silly kitty. But there's something _you_ need to know." And before she could talk herself out of it, she said her words. "Tikki. Spots on." She heard Chat's gasp as she transformed and as she emerged from her transformation she saw the look of pure shock in his eyes.

"Wow." He breathed. The look in his eyes shifted from shock to adoration and… Something else she couldn't quite place.

"I know.." She murmured, shifting her foot anxiously. "I'm not exactly who you pictured for Ladybug."

"Mari… I couldn't have picked anyone better. I'm amazed I never connected the dots before now. Don't bring yourself down. You're incredible. I said wow because I managed to fall in love with you twice."

Mari de-transformed and pulled him into an embrace and the two stood for there for what felt like hours. A glance at the clock however, showed that it had only lasted 5 minutes. Chat's ring killed the mood, beeping another warning. A fangirling Tikki was fairly certain that Plagg had done that on purpose.

"Gods princess I'm so sorry." he whispered. "I don't want to leave."

"Stay." She whispered. "I know it's you." Chat shook his head.

"Nathalie said he wanted to speak to me tonight. I'm cutting it close as it is. If I want any freedom… Well let's just say I can't miss this." Mari looked into his eyes, still holding him. He wanted to kiss her. She could feel it. The air was thick with tension. Both were liable to snap at any moment and she knew if one of them did, the other wouldn't resist. She really, really, wanted to go over that edge. Just one kiss would do it. But something held her back. Held both of them back. And that thing was the looming threat of Gabriel Agreste.

Mari was pissed. She had finally confessed to Adrien, her three year crush only for him to deny her because of his father. Rationally she knew she shouldn't be mad but she wanted nothing more than to throw the blonde onto her bed and not let him leave. Unfortunately, rationale won out and Mari sighed, hating the words that were about to come out of her mouth.

"You should go."

"I should go."

The two looked at each other before Chat smirked. Despite that a few more moments passed before Chat sighed and pulled back, a hand on her shoulder. He looked down sadly.

"Glad to know we agree." He turned and walked towards the balcony, with her following. He turned around at the railing and took her hand. He kissed it, his green eyes never leaving her blue. "I'll see you tomorrow… My lady." And with that, he disappeared into the night.

* * *

 _ **A/N: Sup everyone. Hope you're having a good week! I know I am. I'm currently in Hawaii on the big island. It's a party. (See how I was responsible and still posted like I promised? You're welcome)**_

 _ **I'm so glad you all enjoyed my first chapter and I hope you enjoyed this one too. If you didn't please tell me why! I'm always happy to listen. Also I know my reveal came pretty early for most stories but I feel like the reveal wasn't the main focus of this story.**_

 _ **Regardless I hope you enjoyed. Let me know. Love you all!**_

 _ **Until Next Time!**_

 _ **~Nebilas~**_


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Adrien jumped through his window and landed just as his transformation ended. He flopped onto his bed with one bound and stared at the ceiling. _Marinette is Ladybug._ He thought numbly. He shook his head in disbelief. Literally any other time before now and he would be doing flips and cartwheels out of excitement but now… It was meaningless. He loved her but he could never be with her. And she had been _right there._

She had been so close. He had almost kissed her, but he knew it could only end badly. He knew it was a bad idea. Possibly the worst he'd ever had. And he still wanted it so desperately.

 _Well I could be with her._ He rationalized. _But I can't ask her to wait for me like that. I don't know when I'll be back, if ever._ There was a sharp knock on his door.

"Adrien your father will see you now." Natalie informed him.

"Good for him." Adrien muttered as he got up. He opened the door and checked to see if anyone was there before addressing his kwami. "You stay here." He said, glaring at Plagg suspiciously. Plagg put up his paws in a 'what did I do' gesture, but Adrien was already closing the door.

He began his trek through the mansion, absentmindedly trailing his left hand along the wall. He hated the place. He hated almost everything about it. The uneccesary size, the emptiness of it, all of the things he had no use for in his room, and recently, now that he had been to other people's houses, the lack of pictures on the walls. There were very few pictures of anyone other than himself in the house, and he despised it. He saw it as a constant reminder of who he had to be, though perhaps that was his father's intention.

Adrien sighed as he reached the office, and he rapped on the door. To his surprise, nobody answered for a few moments. He heard something fall on the floor before his father finally acknowledged him.

"Come in." Adrien slowly opened the door and entered.

"You wanted to see me?" _What now Dad you've already destroyed my life, why not go again?_

"You leave in three days." Adrien stared at his father, nodding slowly, swallowing this new tidbit of information.

"And?" His father stared at him. Adrien stared back. He knew his father would never just call him for something small like that. He would have had Natalie do it.

"Don't disrespect me Adrien." Adrien's mouth fell open. How the _hell_ had that been disrespect?

"Sorry father." Adrien murmured. He knew by now just to move on from what his father said in these situations. His father nodded and stood.

"It has come to my attention that you were looking at colleges before you learned of your trip to America." Adrien almost scoffed, but kept quiet. His _trip._ Is that what it was going to be called now? "Why would you do such a foolish thing?" Adrien looked at his father in surprise.

"How do you mean? College is a necessary thing to get a job later on in life isn't it?" Adrien froze as he realized his mistake.

"So you intended to break away from the company. Yes it _was_ a good idea to get you away from here. Clearly public school has done more harm than good. No matter." He continued, cutting off any protests Adrien might have had. "You will not be attending school in America either. You will continue to learn Chinese of course, as well as fencing, but apart from that and your shoots and interviews of course, that will be all you do." Adrien felt himself become angry.

"So your plan is to make sure I have no alternative future if I want one and become head of the company some day whether I want to or not?" His father turned a steely gaze on him. Adrien knew he'd messed up, but refused to back down now. Gabriel rose from his chair and slowly walked around the desk. Adrien swallowed nervously.

"Yes Adrien. That _is_ my plan. Do you have a problem with it?" Adrien shook his head no quickly. "I thought not." Gabriel said with a victorious smirk. "But in case you need a reminder.." He grabbed Adrien by the throat and yanked him to his feet. Adrien gasped for air as his father held him there for a few moments. " _I own you."_ he whispered, and he let him go. "Out of my office." Adrien coughed a few times, trying to breathe normally, before making his way out of the office. But before he could leave, his father grabbed his shoulder. "And let's not forget your friends. It would be… Unfortunate If someone were to say… Put the Dupain-Cheng Bakery out of business. Or perhaps Ms. Cesaire out of a job at her hospital. With Alya and her siblings having no source of income…. Well… Who knows what might happen." He shoved Adrien out of his office and slammed the door on him.

Adrien felt tears running down his face. He quickly wiped them away and began walking back the way he came. He passed by the painting of he and his father. He stopped and stared at it.

"I hate you." He whispered. But he wasn't sure if he was talking to his father's image or his own.

Adrien took a deep breath before he entered his room, hoping Plagg wouldn't say anything. This hope lasted about thirty seconds.

"What did he want?" he asked, gnawing on some camembert.

"We leave in three days." Adrien responded, hoping the kwami would leave it at that. Plagg however had no intentions of leaving it at just that.

"That was all?" Adrien tensed up.

"Yes." he said, praying that his kwami would accept this response and move on.

"Mmm." Plagg responded, stuffing another camembert slice into his mouth, never taking his eyes off of the teenager in front of him. "I don't believe you. But I have no proof so I'll let it slide this time." Adrien sighed in relief. He moved towards his bed and fell onto it. The long day began to catch up with him as he started to feel more drained with each passing second.

He took off his shirt and tossed it in the general direction of his laundry basket, too tired to actually put it in. He slid under his covers and took a deep breath, closing his eyes.

"Night Plagg." He murmured.

"Night kid." His kwami responded. It took Adrien longer than he would have liked to fall asleep, but he finally did, thoughts of a certain blue haired girl occupying his thoughts.

Unfortunately for Adrien he woke up at four in the morning, which was early even for him. He rolled in his bed for a few minutes, trying to see if he would fall back asleep if he found a different position. He eventually gave up and propped himself up on his elbows. He sighed, mentally preparing himself for a long day.

The good news was it was the last day of school, which meant they would be doing next to nothing in class. And because it was the last day, they would have a half day. Adrien tried to determine if this was a good thing or a bad thing, weighing the pros and cons. The pro was simple, in that he wouldn't be about to die from schoolwork at the end of the day. The con was that he would have to tell Alya and Nino what all had happened yesterday, and _they_ might kill him.

He flopped back onto his pillow, raking a hand through his hair in frustration. Today was probably going to suck no matter what he did. He just hoped he'd be able to explain the situation before they started punching him. Then he came to another realization. The fact that he had to leave in three days might leave Ladybug on an island. _Marinette. Marinette on an island._ He frowned. He needed more than a restless night to wrap his head around that development. A happy development, yes, but not one he'd considered.

 _If I leave that soon, she might not have a partner in time. She'd be by herself for at least a day._ His thought process was interrupted by something entering through the window and landing on the floor. He immediately rolled off the bed and took cover behind it on reflex. When nothing happened he cautiously poked his head out and saw it was a box. He heard a gasp and found Plagg staring at the box in excitement.

"Plagg do you recognize the box?"

"It's a miraculous box!" Plagg said excitedly. "I think Fu wants you to drop it off. See if there's a note with it."

Adrien walked over to it, still on edge. He had learned over the past three years not to trust the appearance of anything. But indeed there was a note on top. He picked it up and read as Plagg floated over to his shoulder.

 _Mr. Agreste,_

 _I'm glad you woke up early, this makes life much easier. I would like for you to drop off and possibly explain the powers of miraculous to the next wielder. It is a person you know quite well I believe. Her name is Alya. She will be given the Fox Miraculous. However I must warn you. Please refrain from telling Alya your identity. I am aware that you and Marinette have recently stumbled upon the truth, to which I believe my own kwami said, and I quote "Fucking finally." But try not to tell Alya. It could prove catastrophic if Hawkmoth wanted to blackmail you into coming back to France. (I have not forgotten your desire to remain, but once you leave you must come back on your own terms, not Hawkmoths.) I hope you have a safe trip to America. Good luck and good wishes._

 _Fu_

Adrien reread the letter to make sure he had read it properly. _Alya. Of course._ Adrien grinned. He knew he had nothing to worry about, at least as far as Mari and the new holder getting along. He would still worry about them, but he always worried. _And now you won't be able to help._ Adrien shrugged off this thought, but was still filled with a sense of unease. He glanced at Plagg who grinned at him.

"Let's go talk to the WiFi girl."

"You actually remember her?" Adrien was surprised to say the least.

"She smelled like cheese."

"I… Okay." Adrien didn't feel like pursuing that topic. "Claws out Plagg."

Chat grabbed the box and nodded, leaping out of the window. He left the property and proceeded to run at a brisk pace to Alya's house. He had been once for her birthday party last year, and so after fifteen minutes, he arrived. He frowned at her window. _This could be problematic._ He thought to himself. The window was in an awkward position. Unlike Marinette he didn't have a balcony to help him either. He sighed jumping to her building and dropping off.

After a second of freefall he caught himself on her windowsill with his claws. Now another problem presented itself, which was that he could only use one hand, because he was still holding the box. He frowned, until the window suddenly opened. Alya's head popped out and she stared down at him blearily.

"Chat Noir?" She asked yawning. "What's wrong? Is there an akuma or something? Has something happened to Ladybug?"

"Calm down Alya." Chat laughed. "Can you take this box for a second? We need to talk." Alya reached down and took the box and moved away from the window so that Chat could leap in. He did so quickly and she examined the box she held. She shrugged and set it down on her desk before she sat down on her bed.

"Have a seat." She invited. Chat immediately dropped onto the floor, crossing his legs. "So what can I do for you? It's very early so if it isn't an emergency can you hurry this up?" Alya yawned as she said this, hiding it behind her hand.

"You won't be half asleep after this." Chat chuckled. "But alright. I'll keep it simple. Paris is going to have a new hero soon." Alya was immediately no longer tired, and was staring at Chat with rapt attention.

"Ok maybe the long version this time." She said sheepishly. Chat grinned.

"Thought that would get your attention. I will try to keep this fairly simple still. Unfortunately Ladybug will be needing a new partner. Situations have arisen that are out of my control, and I will be temporarily 'leaving the claws in' so to speak." Alya immediately began shooting off questions.

"What why? Are you leaving? Why can't you fight? Are you injured? Did you two have an argument? Why are you telling _me_ this?" Chat held up a hand and she fell silent.

"To answer your questions, I can't answer whether I'm leaving or not, purely for your safety. I'm _not_ injured. We did _not_ have an argument, if anything…" Chat trailed off at this and coughed, avoiding Alya's gaze. "Anyways as for your last question that is the real reason I'm here." He stood up and retrieved the box, and handed it to her. She took it, giving him a confused look.

"What's in it?" She asked, a tone of excitement in her voice. Chat smiled, wondering if she could see the sadness that his smile contained.

"The ability to fill a vacancy… If you would like to." Alya took off the lid and the two were greeted with a necklace. She looked at Chat expectantly. "Put it on." He said with a small smile. Her face lit up with a grin and she quickly put it on. There was a flash of orange light and something came spiraling out of the necklace.

"Ohhhhhhhh! Yes!" The kwami shouted doing a few backflips. "450 years will give you such a headache you know?" She began surveying the room.

"What is that?" Alya asked Chat faintly.

"That… Is a kwami. A fox one by the look of it." Chat said smirking.

"Is it normal?" Alya asked as it flew around her room.

"Yes. But I'd hide your phone." Chat advised. Alya quickly did so as the new kwami began to float around the room. It was orange and white, with purple eyes, and looked everything like a miniature fox minus the human-esque face.

"Oh wow a lot has changed! What does this do?" She asked floating towards a light switch and bumping it. The lights turned on and her eyes flew wide. "WOAH! That's awesome! You guys have done well for yourselves! Did you finally harness electricity? Well done!" Then she gasped as she spotted something else. "Is that an apple?" She asked, suddenly timid.

"Uhm… Yes." A bemused Alya confirmed.

"Can I eat it? I'm very hungry."

"Oh yes of course!" Alya said with an inviting smile. The kwami immediately took off across the room and began to devour the apple. "Do you have one of these?" Alya muttered to Chat. Chat laughed.

"Yeah I do. You're lucky. Mine only eats camembert cheese. I'd kill for him to like apples instead." Alya laughed at his suddenly grouchy expression and Chat just rolled his eyes.

"Thank you so much." the kwami said, eyes shining. "I'm Trixx. Sorry for not introducing myself earlier but everything is so different now!"

"I'm Alya." Alya said extending a hand. She quickly realized that the kwami couldn't shake her hand and started to retract it, but Trixx clearly appreciated the gesture because she started nuzzling Alya's cheek.

"Ooooh you're much more polite than my last chosen." She dropped into Alya's now cupped hands and smiled at her. Chat smiled, but he couldn't find the will to be happy. As he stared at Alya talking to her kwami happily, his father's threats rang through his mind… _perhaps Ms. Cesaire out of a job at her hospital. With Alya and her siblings having no source of income…. Well… Who knows what might happen._ Chat clenched his fists in anger but closed his eyes, trying to fight away another storm of anger.

This was when Trixx noticed Chat standing there. She smiled and greeted him. "Oh! Are you Chat Noir?"

"I am. Very nice to meet you Trixx." She giggled and swished her tail happily.

"How's Plagg? I haven't seen him in ages. I think the last time I saw him was what… 1550?"

"He looked very excited when he saw your box." Chat said, smiling a bit.

"Yes I'm sure. I always did encourage his terrible ideas, mostly for my entertainment though." Chat only shook his head as Trixx laughed.

"Who's Plagg?" Alya asked curiously.

"My kwami." Chat replied. "Which reminds me, I should leave a message for Ladybug to warn her."

"Warn her?" Alya asked.

"Well yes. She has a distrust of Volpina after the Lila fiasco." Alya turned to her kwami.

"I get to be Volpina?" She whisper shouted. Her kwami nodded, an amused look on her face. "And I get to fight with Ladybug?" Alya squealed. Chat nodded this time, fiddling with his baton.

"Well you two have fun. I'm gonna call LB and then head home. Oh also, don't tell people your identity. It puts them in danger. Though if you tell Ladybug I promise you won't regret it. Just do me a favor and call me while you do it so I can see her face."

"Sure thing… Wait why would she react oddly?" Alya asked quickly. Chat only grinned and winked before falling back out of the window. He actually impressed himself with the way he used his baton to catapult his way across the street. He landed and immediately called Ladybug, not expecting a reply. To his surprise she answered.

"Kitty what's wrong?" His heart skipped a beat at the nickname but he was able to get past it. He started running home, hoping Natalie wouldn't come get him up early for some reason.

"Nothing's wrong right now. At least not as far as Chat is concerned. Just giving you a heads up I dropped off the Fox Kwami with the new girl." He was greeted with silence. "LB?"

"Yeah! Sorry, just.. Yeah."

"Also she doesn't know our identities yet. She'll go by Volpina but I know for a fact you can trust her."

"Well… Alright. Why Volpina though?"

"She's more than capable." Chat said, trying to reassure her and vault a chimney at the same time.

"She won't be you Chat." Chat stopped running and stared at his baton. Ladybug was adamantly not looking at her yoyo.

"Do you need me to visit?" He asked gently.

"Yes." She whispered. "But you can't can you? And even if you could…" She let it hang there and Chat nodded in understanding.

"I'll see you in a few hours at least." He murmured. "Last day and all."

"I have a feeling I'm not going to enjoy it." She responded. "Alya and Nino might bite our heads off though."

"Just mine once I'm done I think." Adrien said, sitting down against a rooftop wall. A few moments of silence passed. "You'll be ok my lady." He got a shaky laugh in response.

"I don't think that'll necessarily be true." He didn't have a response for her. "I'll see you at school kitty." And she hung up. Adrien stared at his baton sadly and stood up, before walking to the edge of the roof and continuing his run home, his thoughts swirling in his head. As he entered his room, he left his transformation and Plagg stretched as he swirled out.

Plagg drifted off to finish off the rest of the cheese on the desk while Adrien dropped onto his bed, while staring at the ceiling. _I can't let them get hurt by him._ This was the one phrase that he could agree with his mind on. He had decided this long ago when he became Chat. But then he had been thinking about Hawkmoth. This time… It was his father he was worried about. Adrien rolled over and buried his face in his pillow. _I have to go to America._ He thought.

This was when Natalie knocked on the door to wake him up. He didn't bother getting up from his bed. He was all but ready for the day, and he knew there was no way he was going to be eating breakfast. _Maybe America won't be terrible._ He tried to reason with himself.

*Ding!*

Adrien rolled over and grabbed his phone. It was Mari.

 _Hey. Just letting you know I'm gonna be a little late to school, so don't freak out when I'm not there. I'll be there for you during lunch._

He let this wash over him for a few moments before sending a quick but genuine _thank you._ He rolled back over and resumed his staring contest with the ceiling. He began to think about Mari and what life would be like without her. He let out a breath of air in frustration and pulled a pillow over his face. _America won't be so bad my ass._

* * *

 _A/N: Hello everybody. Well not everybody. Just you guys. :) The people reading this. This awkward piece at the end of this? :) That is totally written by Batman. I mean not written by batman. (awkward laughter)_

 _Seriously though. I hope you all enjoy your Wednesday. :) I love you all. thank you for all of the reviews! I'm actually going to reply to some of those now._

 ** _LynsieTheBraveShadowHuntress_**

 _ok first of all your name is amazing. Secondly. Sorry it made you want to cry. It gets worse though. I apologize in advance._

 ** _Kunonakume_**

 _I've always had a thing for Adrien realizing Marinette is more impressive (or just as) than Ladybug in her own way. Same goes for the other way thus MariChat is my otp._

 ** _Haoyoh Asakura_**

 _Nope no way out. HAHA I mean sorry. But don't worry it will probably work out... Probably_

 ** _pinksakura271_**

 _Yeah I had a ton of fun writing that list, and yes all hail Chat Noir he is my fav. (puns ftw)_

 ** _panteabooks_**

 _Natalie will play a pretty significant role later on. Don't worry about that :D I don't know about arresting Gabriel. I might just let him die. Arrest seems too PG. This is M after all (grins viciously)_

 _Ok I think that's everyone who reviewed Chapter 2 last time. I know there were three who were guests but I couldn't really call it out... Sorry about that. Regardless I love you all. I'll see you in two weeks! Or one if you follow my Harry Potter AU._

 _Until Next Time!_

 _~Nebilas~_


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N: Hey guys! It's me! I haven't disappeared forever! I was volunteering in Haiti and the Wi-Fi situation was... Well let's say less than ideal. But you'll get back to back chapters instead of the usual two week wait. Next Wednesday as per usual. Hope you enjoy! Sorry about the delay._

 _Until Next Time!_

 _~Nebilas~_

* * *

 **Chapter 4**

"I'm finished Mom!" Mari shouted. She had decided to skive off of her last homeroom class so she could help her parents with the bakery. She had been able to set up fairly quickly, and she quickly grabbed her backpack.

"Bye sweetie! Thank you!" Her mother shouted from the back.

"Have a good day!" Mari yelled back. And with that she left, heading to school, walking at a slow pace. As she was already late, she saw no point in hurrying up. Tikki flew up into her hair from her bag and nestled into it. Mari sighed. "Tikki what are you doing?"

"It's easier to talk to you up here." Tikki said. "How are you feeling?"

"Not great." Mari admitted. Tikki didn't have an immediate response so she continued. "You know when Adrien said he was leaving… I was actually taking solace that I'd still have Chat Noir with me. Instead I've lost both." Marinette tried to wipe away tears as she walked. "Tikki am I a terrible person to wish that they were separate people?"

"Marinette of course it doesn't. You've found out your two best friends are the same person, just as he's found out about you. If you had found out and he didn't have to leave Paris you'd be freaking out because you were so happy. Which reminds me… Now that I know who Chat is I can talk to Plagg. There's a few things I need to talk to him about in private." Marinette completely missed the last part of what Tikki said, and wiped her eyes clear.

"Thank you Tikki." She murmured.

"Anything for you Marinette." Tikki smiled. She flew back into Mari's bag, and Mari could hear sounds that suspiciously sounded like she was eating a cookie. She sighed and continued her walk to school.

She entered the school and absent-mindedly walked down the halls until she reached her class. She opened the door. Miss Bustier cocked an eyebrow at her.

"I thought you might want one more time to tell me off for being late." Mari said with a small smile. Miss Bustier expression immediately became blank, trying not to laugh.

"Just go to your seat." She finally said returning the small smile. Mari nodded and turned only to be greeted with several sets of eyes staring directly at her. There were only three that mattered though.

Alya looked like she was about to explode, presumably from there being a million questions that she didn't have answered as of yet.

Nino smiled and waved, because he had no idea of the inner turmoil in her mind.

Adrien… Adrien looked broken. She swallowed guiltily, walking towards them. She put a hand on his as she walked past him and was rewarded with a weak smile. She slid into her seat and she could tell Alya was practically vibrating in anticipation. A glance to her left showed that Alya actually had a book with all of the questions she had in there. Mari sighed.

"Attention!" Miss Bustier said. The class quickly became quiet. "As it's the last day I honestly don't care much what you do, just don't make a mess and don't shout or yell. You may talk, be on your phones, as you wish." The class let out a small cheer though Mari immediately felt Alya's gaze on her again.

"Spill."

"Alya…"

"Don't _Alya_ me. Something happened yesterday. You didn't call me celebrating, but you also just put your hand on Adrien's and he smiled at you, so _what the hell happened?"_ Mari glanced at Adrien for support, but he was staring at his phone, having gone very pale. His hand shot up into the air.

"Yes Adrien?" Miss Bustier asked.

"May I be excused for a few minutes?" He asked hoarsely. Miss Bustier looked slightly taken aback by his tone of voice but nodded. Adrien immediately stood and left the room. Everyone watched him go with a mild air of surprise before most returned to their normal conversations. Alya tried to regain Mari's attention but failed. Eventually Mari stood up too, announcing she was going to check on him. Miss Bustier rolled her eyes but waved her out. She searched for a few minutes, and finally found him slumping against his locker, looking the other way.

"Natalie stop dancing around this just answer my question." A pause. "Yes you do. Tell me. _Tell me the truth._ You know exactly what he's doing with that place tell me." He listened for a few moments and Mari nervously crept up on him. Adrien slid down onto the floor and put his head in his hand. He rubbed his forehead, as though trying to get rid of a headache. "So he bought it for insurance… Great. Anything else you want to tell me about before I see it because Chloe sent me a link to the article?" After some silence he spoke again, but his tone was icy. "What's his position on the board?" After a few more moments, Adrien hung up the phone and just sat there, slumped against his locker.

After a few seconds, he pulled out his phone and pushed a contact. After a few moments it was presumably picked up because Adrien was pissed.

"This was _not_ part of the deal." he snarled. He listened intently and jumped to his feet. "Since when have I _not_ taken you seriously? Look _Father,_ I know you're a cold hearted pile of shit, you don't have to-" He stopped dead and listened some more before whipping around and stalking towards Mari, not really seeing her. "I don't _care_ if _I_ pay for that comment later that's the point! You leave _them_ out of it." A beat. " _All of them._ Don't you- NO Dad don't you dare-" He slowly pulled the phone away from his ear and stared at it in disbelief. His eyes fell on Mari who was staring at him with wide eyes.

"Adrien?" She whispered. "What's wrong?" Adrien took a deep breath, but he was still clearly livid.

"My father… Is blackmailing me."

"How so?" She whispered. He handed her his phone and she looked at the screen. It was an article that read _Gabriel Agreste Buys French General: Promises New and Updated Equipment._

"This should be great news to everyone." Adrien muttered. "The hospital was failing and it was possible hundreds would lose their jobs. But that's not why he did it."

"Then why?" Mari asked.

"It's where Alya's mom works." Mari gasped and put a hand to her mouth. Adrien nodded and leaned against the wall again.

"This is why I have to leave." Adrien said bitterly. A few moments passed. "He threatened your bakery too last night." Mari shut her eyes. That was what she'd been afraid of. "I'm so sorry Mari this is-"

"Don't you _dare_ say this is all your fault." She whispered, cutting him off. "This is your father's fault. I can't believe I idolized him once."

"That isn't your fault either. He's very careful about what he shows the world." He said this bitterly and Mari couldn't help but feel there was something else he wasn't telling her.

"Adrien… Is there something else?" He sighed and looked at the floor.

"Can we do this during lunch? I'm not sure I'll be able to do it twice." Mari nodded, fighting the nearly overwhelming urge to hug him. He stared at her for a few seconds, and she had a feeling he was going through the same thing. He eventually just murmured a 'thank you.' Mari could only nod before they turned and headed back to class.

As their final classes of high school came and went, Mari found her thoughts drifting between the rapidly approaching lunch, Adrien's departure, and his father. In other words, she was circling through dread, sadness, and anger, at (according to psychologists) a rather alarming rate. When the final bell rang and students cheered, Mari sank into her seat, not really feeling up to leaving.

She joined the throng of students thanking their teacher before she walked out the door and met Adrien at his locker. He acknowledged her with a small wave before finishing clearing out his locker into his backpack.

"No I'm not ready." He said, as if sensing what Mari was about to ask. "But here we go." The two began to walk towards the school entrance for the last time. As they stepped out, everyone was happy. They had finally graduated high school. Mari however, could not find the heart to take part in it. The blue sky seemed to mock her as she stared at it.

"Hey guys!" Alya said, grinning ear to ear. "We ready for lunch?" Her expression faltered slightly as she noticed Adrien and Mari's expressions but she shrugged it off and grabbed Nino's hand. The couple walked a few meters in front of the blonde and bluenette, who despite their best efforts, ended up glaring at their friends. Adrien actually made a small whimpering noise as Nino kissed Alya's cheek. Mari wasn't doing great herself either.

"It'll be okay kitty." She murmured. Adrien shook his head.

"Maybe eventually. But not yet." He said with a sigh.

"I'm sure you'll find someone in America." Mari replied, her heart wrenching even as she said it.

"What if I don't want to?" Adrien murmured. Mari's head snapped up towards him. He sighed and looked at her sadly before looking forward again. They walked in silence until they reached the cafe they'd be eating in. The group sat and a waitress brought them water. Marinette bristled as said waitress appeared to be very enamored with Adrien. _He's not mine._ She thought closing her eyes for a moment. _Not mine._

She reopened them and was greeted to the sight of Nino and Alya cuddling. Mari's eye twitched. She was being unreasonable but she wanted to slap someone really badly. Preferably Gabriel Agreste but if Nino and Alya kept it up… Fortunately Adrien beat her to it.

"Guys. This is kind of a selfish request but if you could _not_ cuddle right now? Please?" Nino looked surprised and Alya looked affronted, but she nonetheless moved away from her boyfriend. "Thank you." Adrien murmured.

"Okay blondie. Spill. Right now. Tell me what the hell happened and why you're acting like one of us died." Adrien winced. Her summary of how he'd been was a little too close to home.

"Which do you want first?" He asked.

"What happened between you two?" Alya asked immediately.

"She told me how she felt and I told her no. Next?" Adrien said blandly. Everyone gaped at him. Mari went to try and explain further but Alya beat her to it.

"The hell is _wrong_ with you Agreste? How could you just say _no?_ No I'm sorry no _nothing?_ " Mari again went to defend Adrien but Adrien spoke over her.

"Why should I? She isn't worth my time. I'm an Agreste for god's sake." That was when Mari realized what Adrien was trying to do.

"Adrien stop." She said softly. "Don't do this." Alya and Nino turned to her.

"What are you talking about?" Alya asked.

"Mari I have to." Adrien hissed at her.

"I won't let you." Mari said defiantly. They glared at each other for a few moments before Adrien sighed in defeat and looked away. He knew she would eventually tell them the truth anyways.

"Explain please." Nino said, eyes wide with confusion. Mari took a deep breath, not excited about having to say what she had been trying to deny.

"Gabriel has decided to send Adrien to America. He found out yesterday. I confessed, Adrien told me he was leaving and I was a wreck."

"So was I." Adrien murmured. Mari acknowledged him with a small nod.

"What he was just doing, or trying to, was distance himself from you so that Gabriel would be under the impression that Adrien was no longer friends with us. That we had argued with him over something and he had cast us away, never to be forgiven."

"But… Why?" Alya asked, completely bewildered.

"Because he knows I don't care what happens to me anymore." Adrien said. "And as a result he has decided to threaten all of you instead. To make _absolutely sure_ that I won't leave the company." Alya and Nino stared at him in horror.

"But.. Surely it's just that? A threat? He can't control us that easily!" Nino said defiantly.

"I agree with Nino." Alya growled. Adrien just shook his head.

"Alya did you see that the hospital your mom works in was purchased today? It's saved."

"What? That's wonderful!" Alya said, ecstatic. "Now Mom won't have to worry about finding a new place!"

"It was purchased by my father." Alya fell silent and stared at him in shock. "If I do something out of line… He punishes one of you. He said she'd be first." Alya covered her mouth with her hand as tears started to roll down her cheeks. Nino immediately grabbed her and held her.

"Can he do that?" Nino asked hoarsely.

"Yes. He's now head of the Hospital Board. He can fire who he likes." Adrien said, clenching his fist.

"What about me?" Nino asked.

"I don't know. He never explicitly said." Adrien confessed. Nino nodded, but Adrien could see he was scared. Adrien looked down. "I'm really sorry." He whispered. "I leave in two days." The rest of the group gawked at him, and Marinette's heart dropped even further.

"But… You said weeks." She whispered.

"He changed it." Alya snarled, wiping away a tear. "Didn't he?" Adrien nodded and Alya looked like she wanted to kill someone. Nino still looked unsettled.

"By some miracle I have tomorrow night off." Adrien said after a few minutes of silence. "Would anyone want to do one last thing? Dinner or something?" Alya and Nino nodded vigorously and Mari nodded as well. "Thank you guys." Adrien murmured. "For not hating me."

"Oh shut up." Nino said with a sad smile. "We could never hate you. I mean if you killed one of us I'd be pretty pissed but this isn't on you. This is all on your dad. I want to kick his ass." Adrien smiled wryly. That was when a thought occurred to Marinette. _Adrien is Chat Noir! Why doesn't he take advantage of that?_ It was certainly a dark thought and one that terrified her to pieces but it was still there. Her next question to herself was had Adrien already realized that, and if so, what had his decision been? Adrien's phone made a noise and his eye twitched. He pulled it out and took a deep breath.

"Another photo shoot." He said. "I have to go." The three started to protest but he stared at all of them in turn. "I'm not putting any of your lives in jeopardy because I didn't want to go to a photo shoot. I'll see you all tomorrow I suppose." The three nodded. Once he was outside, Mari received a text from him.

 _Patrol tonight?_

 _Yeah. We didn't do it last night. -M_ Mari didn't add that she wanted to see him as much as possible before he left.

 _I'm going to be out for a while probably. -A_

 _I figured. Are you gonna invite the new girl? -M_

 _Not this time. I feel like you should be the one to show her the ropes. It will be just the two of you after all. -A_

Mari nodded to herself before sending another text.

 _Makes sense. See you then. -M_

Mari refocused her attention on her other two friends across the table. They looked stunned. Mari rubbed her temples, trying to alleviate some of the pain that had been increasing in her head since she had learned Adrien would be leaving.

"How are you guys doing?" Mari asked gently.

"Shitty." Alya whispered. Nino nodded. "I always knew Gabriel wasn't the best father but this… This is beyond anything I thought possible." Mari nodded mutely, flashing back through her past conversations with Adrien, when she suddenly remembered small tidbits of information that he had told her.

"It's worse." Mari whispered, horrorstruck, as pieces aligned themselves in her head.

"What do you mean?" Nino asked. "How could this be worse?" Phrases that Adrien had said flashed through her mind. Things he had said as Chat. Things she had asked him about.

" _Chat what's that bruise on your forehead?"_

" _This? Oh don't worry my lady, I just lost my balance today._

Another time when he had been favoring his ribs.

" _Chat are you okay? Did you injure yourself again?"_

" _What? Oh. This. Yeah. You know me, sometimes I'm clumsy."_

Mari scoffed to herself in hindsight. Chat Noir was many things but clumsy was not one of them. Then recent conversations flew through her mind.

" _You think that after years of neglect and abuse I don't want to get out?"_

" _I don't_ care _if_ I _pay for that comment later that's the point!"_

" _... He knows I don't care what happens to me anymore."_

" _He's very careful about what he shows the world."_

"I think he's being abused." Mari whispered. Nino suddenly sat straight up.

"Do you mean.. Physically?" he whispered. Mari nodded.

"I was just thinking about things he's been saying. I think his guard is down right now… He's been slipping and… It kind of lines up. It would explain why his father has never let him model for swimsuits even though practically every girl in Paris would drool over that. It explains why Adrien has never gone to a pool or a beach with us. If he ever _has_ gone in his life."

Nino was gaping in abject horror while Alya just looked livid.

"I really hope you're over thinking this." Alya whispered.

"Yeah." Mari said laughing shakily. "Me too." After the conversation, the three weren't in much of an eating mood, so they went their separate ways. Mari wandered home alone. She tried to convince herself maybe life without Adrien and Chat wouldn't be so terrible. She reached the bakery and entered, slowly walking up the stairs to her room, still trying to rationalize. He still had a phone after all. And she'd have a new partner. As she plopped down on her bed, an image popped into her head of a grinning Chat Noir sitting on her balcony. She held back a small sob, as she felt tears roll down her cheeks. _Won't be terrible my ass._


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N: Responding to comments!_

 ** _Rose Tiger:_** _Le shrug. Gabriel rules all. Or at least money does. Besides. If they just stood him up this story would be much more technical and boring. Legal bulls*** blah blah blah. I love your profile picture by the way._

 ** _Tammy:_** _Unfortunately you were a guest but you put your name on so I can still call you out. Yay. I didn't even think about Chloe! Great idea! If I use it I'll give credit where it's due. I'm glad you like Gabe's plan. It gets even more evil. ;)_

 ** _Haoyoh Asakura:_** _There will be more than a few sad chapters I'm afraid. Oh don't worry. They're working on a plan. :D DJWifi to the rescue! Well... I guess for this it would be DJVolpina but DETAILS! Do you care about details? Oh... You do? Damn it. Looks like I'll have to pay attention._

 ** _Komnenid:_** _Literally just sat here for five minutes trying to figure out how I would say your username out loud. Then I realized I would never have to. I'm smart. Anyways. I do like that idea. But I also feel like Adrien would get mad at her. He wouldn't want her to risk her reputation for his sake. That's the reason he's leaving after all so that she or anyone else doesn't get hurt in any way._

 ** _Mayuralover:_** _Sorry I made your heart cry. Also I had no idea what Ms. Cesaire's job was. However, nurse fits in best for... Reasons that I cannot divulge because A) it hasn't been written yet, and B) SPOILERS. Also Damn right I'm making you hate Gabriel even more. That's the point. Thank you for your kind wishes! :)_

 _So unfortunately that's everybody I can thank because the rest were guests. Separately thank you everyone who followed and/or favorited. I love you all. 3 I would sign off but there's a message at the bottom. See you there. ;3 kisses!_

* * *

 **Chapter 5**

"Done! Well done Adrien, great shoot!"

"Thanks Vincent." Adrien said, getting up from the set. Vincent grabbed his shoulder before Adrien could get to the dressing room.

"Hey. Just so you know I might not be making that trip to America with you." Adrien raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"But Dad loves you, why not?" Vincent only shrugged.

"It was actually he who is deciding on it still. I might have to find another pretty boy model to pose for me." Adrien rolled his eyes and Vincent grinned. "But if he decides to move on, it was an honor getting to know you." He extended a hand. Adrien shook his head.

"Nope. You get a hug." The two embraced for a few moments. "Thanks for everything Vincent." Adrien said as they released each other.

"My pleasure. See you around!" Vincent said, heading to his camera bag so he could start packing up. Adrien sighed and disappeared into his dressing room so he could change out of the clothes he had been modeling for. He threw on his usual t-shirt, careful not to disturb Plagg who was curled up asleep at the bottom. He slung his bag over his shoulder and walked out of the dressing room. He took a last glance around the studio and he left.

He stepped out of the building and stared at the sky. The clear blue sky from earlier had vanished to be replaced by an orange hue as the sun began the final stage of its descent. Adrien took a deep breath and slid into the back seat of the limo. He sighed and pulled out his phone, which had several notifications. He temporarily ignored the ones from Natalie and opened Mari's first.

 _Tikki wants to know if you'd be willing to come over before or after patrol. She wants to see Plagg before he leaves I think._

Adrien didn't hesitate with his response.

 _Yeah of course. I'll ask Plagg first but I'm fairly certain he'll be happy with this plan._

He moved on to the many texts that were in the group chat.

 _We should figure out the dinner plan now. Maybe make a reservation that sort of thing? -Alya_

 _Probably. - Mari_

 _Ok so any ideas? -Nino_

 _Not really… -Mari_

 _I mean it's Adrien we should keep it simple yeah? -A_

 _How are you really holding up girl? -A_

 _Not great. I'm trying not to think about it. -M_

 _It just sucks. -M_

 _Yeah it must. -A_

 _Adrien really thought it was best to try to drive us away? -N_

 _I guess… I mean it does make sense in some form. Pretend not to care maybe his dad will leave us alone. But we were never gonna let that happen. -A_

 _Mari are you truly serious about your theory? -N_

From there the conversation suddenly dropped off and Adrien had a sneaking suspicion that they had been texting in the wrong group chat. He wondered what Mari's theory was. He didn't want to pry though. _I'll just leave it be._ He thought closing his eyes to rest for a moment.

He woke up as The Gorilla opened his door in front of the mansion. Adrien yawned and blearily stepped out. He glanced at his phone as he walked up the walkway, having received more messages. He opened the one from Natalie first this time.

 _I have deliberately left tomorrow wide open for you so you can "pack". Use your time wisely._ Adrien smiled. He'd thank her in person later. He moved to the other text which was from Mari.

 _So does 8 work?_ A glance at his phone showed him it was nearing half past seven. He could make it work.

 _Yeah. I might be a few minutes late but not by much._ He sent the text and began the trek towards his room. Once he got there he woke up Plagg, making sure there was camembert directly next to him so he wouldn't be angry.

"Tikki wants to see you so we're seeing them a little earlier tonight." Adrien was a little surprised to see Plagg look exceedingly happy before scarfing down as much cheese as he could in the next five minutes, which, considering Plagg's size, was rather remarkable. "Ready?" Adrien asked. Plagg released a rather large burp.

"Very."

"Claws out!"

Chat leapt out of his window and began his run to Marinette's. He went in a bit of a zigzag pattern, doing a mini patrol on his way there. He paused about halfway and he watched the sun's final rays disappear from the sky, leaving the horizon a beautiful purple, that faded into black. He took a deep breath and molded into the darkness. He moved across the rooftops, making sure nobody would see him, keeping to the shadows. It was good practice.

He reached Marinette's balcony at exactly 8:03 and dropped onto it. He tapped on her window and she opened it.

"Hey princess." He said softly. She blushed slightly, a coy smile gracing her features.

"Are you still going to call me that even now? You know I'm ladybug." Adrien smiled.

"I could combine the two. Maybe I should call you 'my princess'." Mari rolled her eyes but he couldn't help notice the blush was spreading across her cheeks. She moved aside to let him enter, and he did so. She shut the door behind him and closed the curtains so nobody could see in. He dropped his transformation and Plagg whizzed out.

"Oh my gosh you're so cute!" Mari gasped, staring at Plagg.

"I am a god. I am not _cute._ You should fear me!" Plagg said, appalled.

"You're _adorable!"_ Mari squealed. Adrien laughed as Plagg sulked until Tikki flew out.

"Plagg!" She shrieked. She whizzed over to him and actually knocked them out of the air with the force of her hug. "I've missed you." She murmured.

"I've missed you too." Plagg whispered. Adrien and Mari stared as the two continued hugging each other and showed no sign of stopping anytime soon.

"Should we leave them alone?" Mari asked.

"Probably. Plagg seemed excited to talk to her so.." Mari nodded pointed him up her stairs and he travelled up, before crashing onto her bed, still tired despite his nap earlier. He closed his eyes and sighed, trying to relax and failing. He let his mind drift where it wanted until Mari joined him upstairs with a pair of mugs.

"Hot chocolate?" She asked. Adrien gratefully accepted it, and took a long drink. He pulled it away from his lips and sighed, trying to savor the flavor and the moment.

"Natalie managed to arrange it so that I have all of tomorrow off." He informed her.

"That's nice." Mari responded. She wasn't being sarcastic it just seemed like such an insignificant thing to care about with him leaving so soon. The two sat in an awkward silence for a few moments.

"Can I spend it with you?" Adrien blurted suddenly. Mari turned to him in surprise.

"What? Me?"

"Well… Yes. I can understand if you don't want to of course I-" Mari covered his mouth with her hand.

"Of course I want to silly. I was just a little surprised is all." Adrien smiled and she took her hand away. Their eyes met and green and blue stared at each other until Adrien looked away, quickly sipping his chocolate.

"Did you three decide what to do about dinner?" Mari also drank some of hers and she relayed their plan. They proceeded to talk for the next hour, letting time slip away, trying to enjoy themselves as long as they could. Eventually the conversation took a turn Mari had been trying to avoid for as long as possible.

"Can I ask a question?" Adrien asked. "You don't have to answer."

"Shoot." Mari replied, nabbing a cookie from a plate she had retrieved about fifteen minutes prior.

"How long have you been in love with me?" Adrien rushed the words out of his mouth, as if he were afraid that the longer he took to say them, the more pain they could cause. Mari pondered this then stood and went over to her closet, pulling something out of it. Adrien's eyes went wide as he recognized the umbrella he had given her three years prior. "That long?" He asked, stunned.

"Yeah." Mari sighed, looking at the umbrella. "And it was all your fault. I literally hated your guts until you gave me this thing. I assumed you'd be just like Chloe but then suddenly… You were standing there offering me your umbrella and my mind just sort of seized up and suddenly I was just a complete mess around you. Hence the stuttering."

"So.. What got you out of that?" Mari immediately laughed.

"That's easy. It was when Bustier gave you a detention for being late. I'm assuming because of an akuma we had to fight. She made you clean the room. I was walking along the hallway after school minding my own business when I heard music being played from her room. And I looked in and there you were dancing, cleaning and singing along with December, 1963." Adrien looked mortified.

"I can't believe you saw that. But how did that help you not stutter around me anymore?"

"Well I guess I realized you were just a normal person. Not just some super hot model. That you're a dork. Honestly if anything it made me love you even more." Adrien blushed at this. "What about you? When did you… Fall?" She asked.

"Well… I honestly don't have a real answer for that, because I just accepted it one day. It had been on the edge of my thoughts for awhile." He noticed her confused expression. "For example I would be thinking of you along the lines of 'Maybe I'll go visit my princess tonight.' And then I'd wonder where the 'my' had come from. And then sometimes when I was here as Chat I would be watching you work and just be thinking and then I would realize I'd been daydreaming about kissing you for five minutes." Mari nodded, a pink tinge on her face. "But I'd say about eight or nine months." They sat in a comfortable silence until Adrien looked at her. "So… You think I'm hot?" Marinette immediately blushed crimson.

"Well… Yeah. I mean you're a model for a reason. You're gorgeous let's be honest about this. I never stood a chance once I found out you have a heart of gold alongside that."

"Flatterer." Adrien said with a grin. Mari giggled. He leaned over and whispered, "For what it's worth I think you're drop dead beautiful." Mari looked at him, beet red.

"Y-You think that?"

"I know so. But it's not just that Mari. You are the first person to fall in love with me for who I am, not that stupid fake me my dad forces me to put up. You saw me as myself and didn't scorn me or try to distance yourself. You accepted it, and that… That makes me love you more."

Mari felt herself flush again. His brilliant green eyes were piercing her blue, asking a question she knew the answer to. She put her hand on his cheek and swallowed nervously. A small smile flickered over his face and she offered a small smile in return. She slowly leaned forward, channeling her inner ladybug. Mere inches apart, they closed their eyes as she drifted ever closer.

 _Knock knock knock_

"Mari? Would you like to try your father's new recipe?" Adrien let out an involuntary hiss and fell backwards off of the bed, while Mari leapt away from her spot as well, ending up on the edge. Had she not been internally panicking she might have laughed at Adrien's hilarious position on the floor. Mari took a shaky breath, trying to collect herself before her mother walked in. She waved at Adrien to hide himself who did so, yanking himself under her bed. Sabine opened the door and peered in, and was greeted with the sight of a very red Marinette on the far corner of her bed. Sabine cocked an eyebrow and surveyed the room. She took in the pair of mugs and she turned her gaze onto her daughter who let out a noise similar to a mouse being stepped on.

"You are… Alone? Right Marinette?" a wicked grin spreading over her features. Mari let out another strangled noise and Sabine laughed. "Did you stuff the poor boy under the bed? I'll leave. We'll talk tomorrow." Mari might have been worried if it wasn't for the fact she was grinning the entire time. Mari blushed even more (if that was possible) as Sabine gave her a thumbs up. She shut the door behind her and Mari let out a long sigh. Adrien pulled himself out from under her bed with a bemused expression on his face.

"She took that oddly well." he commented.

"We've been her OTP since you came over for the gaming competition." Mari said, her ability to speak normally coming back. Adrien let out a sigh and Mari was tempted to do the same. Reality had come crashing back down on both of them. The moment was gone.

"She killed the mood didn't she?" Tikki asked, the two kwami's phasing through the door. Mari nodded and Tikki glared at Plagg. "Apparently the god of bad luck couldn't be bothered to distract her for a few minutes. Plagg huffed and looked away disdainfully.

"They had well over an hour." he sniffed. "Besides. It's patrol time." Tikki sighed, knowing her counterpart was right.

"Much as I hate to say it, he's right. We should go." Tikki muttered, still glaring daggers. _If looks could kill..._ Mari thought, concealing a smirk. Adrien and Mari nodded and called on their transformations. Seconds later, Ladybug and Chat Noir stood in her room. They stared at each other, fully appreciating what the other was, and all they had experienced together. After a few moments Chat bowed and gestured toward the window.

"After you My Lady. It appears to be a cat-tastic night out." he grinned.

"Thank you Mon Chaton." she replied, smiling despite her attempts not to.

The superheroes left the coziness of Marinette's bedroom, attempting to leave behind the looming threat of Gabriel Agreste as well.

* * *

 _A/N: Hahaaaa Cockblock! Fun fact, my working title for this piece is actually "#Sabine Has No Chill" Also did you see the Harry Potter reference? It's one of my favorite lines from book one. :D This chapter was a bit shorter than usual I know I'm sorry :(. But anyways. Everything should be normal though I have WRITER'S BLOCK AGAIN UGGGGGH. I'm going down to Magic Mountain and Disneyland this weekend for my birthday so maybe the new Guardians of the Galaxy ride will shake up some ideas. I have it all planned out but ugh. Frustrating. Sorry you probably don't care._

 _Person in distance: Get on with it!_

 _Me: Look I'm trying okay I_

 _Second person: Get on with it!_

 _Me: I'm working on it!_

 _Everyone: GET ON WITH IT!_

 _Me: STOP WITH THE MONTY PYTHON REFERENCES_

 _Everyone: ..._

 _My sister: Biggus Dickus_

 _Me: Oh I will end you._

 _Anyways guys I'll see you in two weeks! I hope you lovelies have a good time! :D_

 _As always comment pls. I heart comments._

 _Until Next Time!_

 _~Nebilas~_


	6. Chapter 6

**I gotta find my puuurpooooose! I gotta find me!** (If you can tell me what musical this is from you get a cookie)

Anyways Comment Time!

 **Rose Tiger:** Spoilers. I could reassure you, but that would be less fun. *Grins sadistically* I'm sure eeeverything will be fine.

 **Guest Person:** I don't know your name but you bring up valid points. I didn't even think about him telling her about his crush for Ladybug. I apologize, you were right. If I ever re-edit this I'll fix it. Kisses!

 **Haoyoh Asakura:** Thank you! I hope this is long enough for you. You're gonna have to be patient I'm afraid. Are you patient? I hope so. Cause otherwise you might explode. :) Hehe

 **Mayuralover:** Sabine IS the best

 **Vokhirose:** Adrien _will_ be leaving Paris, just not yet. I need to fill in the backstory and set up some stuff. And yes I more or less agree with your statement of Gabriel, but at the same time, this IS still a children's show. I took a more... Shall we say darker path. Like if there were two paths, there's the path with sunshine and rainbows, then there's my path which looks like the opening scene to the Last of Us. (Dark and depressing) Sorry I was just replaying that game and I almost cried even though it's like the 10th time I've seen that happen. Anyways I'm so glad you're enjoying my writing! :D thank you!

Now on to the story which is probably the only thing you care about anyway. :D Enjoy!

* * *

 **Chapter 6**

 _Peace of mind._ That was how Chat Noir had answered during an interview. _What's the best part of being Chat Noir?_ He had hesitated, contemplating saying that he could see Ladybug every day but he went against it and truly thought.

Those words slipped out before he could stop them and the internet had been speculating ever since. A few of the theories had gotten dangerously close to the actual truth and while he had been pretty sure nobody would piece it together, he often worried whenever a piece came on the news about who they were.

The problem with being a superhero mainly consisted of the fact that deep down, everyone wanted to know who you were. Many people pointed out that they wanted their privacy, but those people would still peek if given the chance. But despite many close calls, several of them from Alya, their two lives remained separate in the eye of the public.

It was this that allowed Adrien Agreste to escape. He finally could escape from his father. He finally had the ability to put Gabriel Agreste's abuse and neglect out of his mind. To finally be himself. Something he was determined not to waste.

And here he was again, attempting to hide from his usual problem. Namely his father. But this time, he had the woman he loved with him, and she was running with him. Not across the ocean, though he was pretty sure she would if he asked. But he couldn't ask her to do that. That wouldn't be fair to her or her family. And unfortunately, despite having completed most of their patrol, his mind was no more at peace the man when he had started.

He sighed and paused on a random rooftop, standing at the edge. _This is probably our last patrol until…_ He sighed and closed his eyes, trying not to think about it.

"You okay kitty?" Ladybug whispered.

"Not particularly." he replied.

"Me neither." she said sadly.

"Maybe there will be an anti-plane akuma and I won't have to leave." He said smirking.

"Well we can hope. But then we'd have to try and defeat it and we'd be back at square one." She pointed out with a small smile. Chat chucked, shooting a loving glance at his partner. "But on a serious note, do you think the new girl will be capable?" Chat let out a bark of laughter.

"Oh yeah. I don't think that'll be a problem. She'll get the gist pretty quickly I think."

"So… We know her?" Mari asked, frowning in confusion. Chat shot her a wink.

"Secrets princess. Also she doesn't know who I am. Fu told me not to tell her. But personally princess, I would tell her if I were you. I think you'll be over the moon when you find out who she is." Mari looked at him like he was crazy but shrugged it off.

"So… What do you want to do tomorrow before dinner?" she asked shuffling her feet awkwardly.

"Anything sounds good princess. Would you be up for lunch in the park?"

"Original." She smirked, poking fun. Chat shrugged.

"Sue me. I'm old fashioned. So? You want to?"

"Yes please." She said smiling. "But that'll still leave several hours."

"Well… We could always go to the movies. Or we could just go back to yours and play videogames. It'd be nice to relax on a couch and not worry about Dad yelling at me for being a waste of space." Mari frowned, suddenly reminded of her theory that Adrien was physically abused. She opened her mouth to ask him, but decided against it.

"Adrien.. You aren't a waste of space." She murmured, pulling him into her arms. "You know that right?"

"I do." Adrien responded softly, returning the embrace. "But it's always nice to hear it from someone other than myself." Mari sighed and closed her eyes, letting time drift away again. "We should probably finish patrol my lady. As much as I don't want to move." Chat murmured. Mari sighed and released him reluctantly.

"I don't wanna." She muttered. Chat laughed.

"It's your job." he grinned, poking her ribcage. She yelped and leapt back, frowning.

"Don't do that when I'm not expecting it!" She protested.

"But it's so much fun!" He said, a wide grin on his face. Mari sighed and smiled.

"Come on let's finish up." She leapt from their roof to the next one and they continued. The last bit of patrol took another twenty minutes, and the late night was officially morning. They headed back towards the bakery, halting about one hundred meters away.

Chat pulled out his phone and scrolled through it, frowning. He sent a reply before sighing and stowing it in a concealed pocket.

"I have to go back to the house." he explained. Mari was acutely aware of how he said 'house' instead of 'home', and felt her heart twinge at the expression on his face.

"Well it's not the end of the world." She said, trying to cheer him up. "I'll see you tomorrow." Chat nodded, a smile briefly showing on his face.

"Shall I pick you up around 11:30?" Mari nodded.

"Sounds like a plan kitty." She said softly. There was a pronounced pause as the two stared at each other. Mari felt two sides of herself struggling against each other. One was shouting at her to kiss him good night, while the other was warning her of the potential consequences. Before she could make up her mind, Chat took her hand and kissed it.

"Good night my lady." he murmured, gazing into her eyes. Mari's heart skipped a beat.

"G-goodnight Chaton." Chat smiled and walked towards the edge of the roof. He paused halfway there, but shook his head and ran off into the darkness. She watched him run over the next few buildings before he vaulted over a chimney and out of sight. She let out a sigh and crossed the final few buildings to her home. She landed on her balcony silently and moved inside, releasing her transformation.

Tikki swirled out and landed gently on the nightstand next to Mari's bed. Mari snagged a spare cookie from her bag and proffered it to her kwami. Tikki took it and made to take a bite but stopped before she did. She sighed and set it down before turning and staring out the window. Marinette stared at her kwami, suddenly very concerned for Tikki's well-being.

"Tikki?" she asked gently, "Are you ok?" Tikki didn't answer for a few moments, simply sitting. Mari was starting to think it was best to leave her alone when she finally spoke.

"I talked to Plagg while you were with Adrien." Mari didn't say anything, letting the kwami form her thoughts. "You know… I often worry about Chat Noir." Tikki turned her head to face mari. "Not just yours I mean… All of them through the years. Plagg is… Well.. I've never met anyone that carries more bad luck than he does. He usually picks well. We've both made mistakes in the past. But Chat Noirs… Well they often have the same story." Tikki's eyes became downcast and she turned back around to look out into the night. "And I worry because he often doesn't care about them as much. He's afraid of becoming attached again. He's lost so many too early that… he's tried to distance himself. Which can lead to Chat Noirs feeling useless and unloved." Tikki jumped off of the nightstand and floated over to the window.

"I've never met a Chat Noir that had both parents. And Adrien is no exception to that rule. In most cases Plagg tells me that they are still loved by their other parent. But this one… This one is hard for me to ignore. I can see that Plagg has for once shown his heart again. And he told me what…" Tikki took a shaky breath. "What's happened since his mom left. How alone Adrien has been most of his life." She turned around and stared straight at Mari.

"That's why he didn't confess you know. He was so happy to have you in his life at all that he didn't want to lose you. So he tried to hide his own emotions. That's why he was so over the top as Chat Noir at first. He finally was out of his father's grip. He could finally be himself. Even if it was a bit much. I'm so glad you didn't push him away.. I've watched more than one ladybug turn their back on their Chat because of who they were. And it won't be easy because he's leaving. But I think if you ask he would happy to try." Tikki looked at her expectantly.

Mari stared at her replaying Tikki's speech in her head. She already knew her answer to Tikki's unspoken question.

"Of course I'll try Tikki. But I think you already knew that." Tikki smiled and flew over, nuzzling Mari's cheek.

"I had a feeling." she murmured. Mari remained silent, a few tidbits of Tikki's monologue sticking out at her.

"You said that… Some of my predecessors turned their backs on Chat?" Tikki's eyes suddenly became steely.

"Oh yes. And sometimes it was deserved. As I said Plagg has made some mistakes. But there have been a few times where I… Well let's just say I was broken." Tikki took a deep breath and sat back down on the nightstand, finally taking a bite of her cookie.

"What happened?" Mari asked softly. Tikki seemed to struggle with an internal battle for a few moments. She finally sighed.

"I suppose I do need to get this off my chest." Tikki took another bite of her cookie, clearly trying to calm her nerves. Mari sat on her bed, giving the kwami her undivided attention. Tikki took a deep breath and began. "It was 1943 and we were in Russia. Her name was Vanessa."

XxXxXxXxXx

Vanessa Lesden took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and listened. She heard the purr of the Nazi tank behind her. If she listened closely, she could hear Chat's footsteps on the opposite side of the tank. She could hear the tanks gun rotate in her direction. 20 meters.

She opened her eyes. She wished her suit wasn't red. _It's winter in Russia. Least you could do is to help me blend in._ Unfortunately Tikki had informed her that the suit only came in Red and black. That hadn't stopped Chat from changing his outfit from black to white.

 _On the other hand,_ Vanessa mused, _it does help me hide the bloodstains._ As much as she was sure the country would understand her newfound killing tendencies, it was best for her enemies to remain unaware. And certainly for Chat. Though if things went the way Ladybug wanted them to today, that would change. As far as she knew, Chat still refused to kill. _This is war._ She had tried to reason. _Anything goes._ He had refused.

But today… Today she was sure she would get her way. The tank was now ten meters away. The gun was still facing her. _Come on stay over here…_ She heard Chat move. _Yes!_

"CATACLYSM!" A shout of alarm in German was heard before she heard the tank start to crumble. When she heard the first gunshot she leapt out from her hiding spot. She ripped down the man closest to her with her yoyo and picked up a gun as she ran. She shot the man in the head and shot another who had noticed her. She watched as Chat took down the last three among the remains of the tank. He knocked out two and knocked the third to the ground, standing over him.

"Well done." Vanessa said to her counterpart. Chat bowed theatrically. "Now kill him." Chat blanched.

"W-what?" he asked, stammering.

"Kill him. Do it."

"Ladybug.. We've discussed this I don't-"

"You will. Or I'll never speak to you again. And you'll get used to the killing too." Chat swallowed nervously.

"I can't." he whispered. Vanessa shook her head in disgust.

"Just as I thought. Weak." She spat at him and made to turn. He leapt after her.

"Wait!" She paused, barely concealing the smirk on her face. "I… I'll do it." She turned around, arms crossed. She said no words but the message was clear. _Get on with it._ "R-right." He stammered. He turned around and faced him. He took a deep breath and took a step towards the man on the ground. That was when the German shot him. He had surreptitiously grabbed his dropped gun and taken his opportunity. Chat screamed and went down, clutching his chest. Vanessa raised her gun and shot the remaining Germans in the head.

"Take no chances." She muttered. She winced at all of the blood coming from Chats wound. _Fatal. He'll probably die in thirty minutes. Won't be fun._

"Ladybug… Heal me." Chat gasped in pain.

"Oh right I have that power don't I?" she said, pretending she'd forgotten. "Of course of course I'll get right on that." She took out her yoyo and prepped for her throw. "Then again." she said, a cruel smile forming over her face. "What use do I have for a weak partner. Maybe your kwami will choose better next time." Chat's eyes widened in shock as Vanessa winked and began walking away.

"I'LL DIE!" he shrieked.

"I know." She called. "Oh wait! Almost forgot." she turned back and tugged the ring off of Chats finger. His transformation immediately left and a cat kwami swirled out. The kwami howled in protest and began to curse her in every language it knew which was quite a lot. "Oof language kitty kwami. Rude."

"SAVE HIM!" It roared.

"Nah. Begone." The ring sucked the kwami back in, effectively shutting him up.

"Oh Alex it's you!" she said surprised. "Well at least you have nobody to miss you. No family, no friends. Lonely existence from all sides." Alex coughed up blood, unable to form a response. "Ha. Your final words are 'I'll die.' Accurate but kinda bleak."

"The ring will take it's revenge." Alex whispered. Vanessa was not one to take these kinds of threats seriously. But for some reason, this one sent a shiver down her spine.

"I'm sure it will." she said rolling her eyes. "Ah well. Goodbye chat." Alex watched her as she left, wondering how he had fallen in love with the woman who was leaving him dying in the snow.

XxXxXxXxXx

Mari stared horrorstruck as Tikki finished her tale. She tried to imagine ever doing that to Adrien and her blood boiled. What had Tikki been _thinking_ choosing her?

"She wasn't always like that." Tikki murmured. "The war… it changed her. It changed a lot of people. Most for the worst. But Chat… It brought out the best in him. And she… I took that away."

"That is not your fault Tikki. How could you have known?" Tikki sighed.

"You know… Technically I created Hawkmoth." She murmured.

"What? How?" Mari exclaimed.

"I lost faith in my ability to choose a wielder. And I told Fu so. He said he would give me and Plagg a break. So he chose two different ones. The peacock-"

"And the butterfly." Mari breathed, suddenly understanding. "But that's not on you." She added, seeing Tikki's face. "Even still. I know you blame yourself it's written all over your face. But you know what? I forgive you. And I'm sure if Plagg were here he'd agree with my sentiment." Tikki smiled weakly.

"Thank you Marinette. That means a lot. Just… Keep being you please."

"I planned to anyways." Mari said smiling. Tikki smiled and floated off to the window again. She sighed and stared out of the window. She gazed out over the Paris skyline, trying to ignore the screams that echoed in her head. When Alex had cursed Vanessa he had actually cursed her. The ring listened. It left several dead in the wake of achieving it's goal. Namely to punish and kill Ladybug. The curse had ended when Vanessa had died. Tikki felt a tear run down her cheek. _When I killed her._

* * *

 _A/N: Well... That happened. Yes that will be explained but only if you're nice. 3 I hope you all enjoyed! The next chapter is taking forever, but I think I'm getting through my writers block more or less. I'm hoping I won't miss my next update. (i shouldn't)_

 _Tell me what you guys thought please. This is my first time really exploring darker themes in my own writing so I'd really like your opinions. I read every one of your comments as you can tell from the beginning of the chapter. :)_

 _But anyways. I love you all. This is kinda the only thing that has stayed consistent in my life for the past several months. Helps me stay sane I guess. I hope this stays secret from my family. I don't want to have that conversation lol._

 _"YOU WRITE STORIES?" Sigh. "Yes Mom." "Why didn't you tell me?" "..." Oh well. See you in two weeks!_

 _Until Next Time!_

 _~Nebilas~_


	7. Chapter 7

_A/N: Hey. So this chapter is sad. Like pretty sad. Like on a scale of 0 to Titanic I'd say a solid Hachi. But it gets better halfway through. :D My god I'm so weird. Okay._

 _So fun fact about my writing recently. Literally all of it has been taking place between the lovely hours of 12 AM and 2 AM give or take a few minutes. For some reason that's when my brain is just like WRITING IDEAS GOOOO! Wheeeeee I'm tired. Anyways I hope you enjoy! See you at the bottom of the page. :)_

* * *

 **Chapter 7**

Adrien had the misfortune of waking up at four in the morning. He tried to force himself to go back to sleep, but ended up flinging the covers off of himself in frustration fifteen minutes later. A glance to his left showed him a still sleeping Plagg. It also showed him a dark window, the only light coming from a street light on the road, giving the room an orange glow. He scratched the kwami's ear, eliciting a purr. Adrien swung his legs over the bed and jumped off, making his way to the bathroom.

He glanced at his reflection in the mirror. The most recent gash on his chest had healed nicely. _Another scar for the collection._ He thought dismally. He turned around and shoved the shower curtain out of the way. He grabbed the handle and cranked it to his desired temperature before kicking off his pajamas and boxers. He stepped into the shower a few moments later, letting the warm water soak into his hair.

He closed his eyes and took a long breath, letting himself drift in the silence. Silence. Something he'd never really had until he had become Chat. He scowled. _Add it to the list._ He thought sardonically. _Freedom. Friends. People who care. Love._ He sighed and leaned his head against the wall. Another thing his father could take from him. Even if he hadn't meant to for once.

Adrien tried to put that out of his mind and went through the process of making himself clean. He was slow, deliberate, trying to make time go by faster. Thirty minutes later, Adrien stepped out of the shower. He grabbed a towel from a cabinet under his sink and dried off. He tied it around his waist and snagged his pajamas as he left the bathroom. He heard a yawn and glanced over to discover Plagg stirring in his bed.

"Hey kid." The kwami murmured sleepily.

"Morning Plagg." Adrien replied, throwing his pajamas under the pillow for his last night. His gut clenched. _Last night._ He didn't like that at all.

"Its early." The kwami muttered.

"Yes it is unfortunately." Adrien replied, dragging out a suitcase from under his bed.

"I'm sorry." The kwami yawned.

"For?" Adrien asked, glancing up.

"That you woke up so early." Plagg replied. Adrien, unaccustomed to Plagg actually showing him affection, stared for a few seconds, waiting for the inevitable camembert comment to come. Incredibly, it never came, and Adrien scrambled for a reply.

"I-it's ok. It could be worse." He forced out, stammering a bit. Plagg nodded.

"True. Very true." Plagg murmured. That was when he began snoring. Adrien almost laughed, but he didn't want to wake Plagg again. _Apparently tired Plagg is polite._ He mused, a small smile on his face.

"Thanks for caring Plagg." He whispered. Plagg did not respond, now fast asleep. Adrien cracked his neck and dragged his suitcase into his closet. He began to throw in his shirts, not really caring about organization. He would organize in America. He sighed as he moved on to the pants section. As he took off the first pair his foot bumped into a box.

He glanced down, wondering what he'd touched. He threw the pants into his suitcase and bent down to pick it up. Oddly, the box was not dusty at all. He walked to his bed and set it down. He opened it and found a note inside.

 _Adrien,_

 _As you know, when your mother died, your father commanded that all pictures of her around the house be thrown out. However, as I was searching for something, I stumbled upon this box. I think your mother may have kept her own private stash of pictures. I think you deserve to see them, just don't tell your father._

 _Natalie_

Adrien glanced down and inhaled sharply. The first picture was of course, of his parents. His mother, Elaine, radiant, and his father smiling widely. Adrien could feel tears welling in his eyes. A time before cancer. A time when his father still smiled. He moved to the next picture. Their wedding night. Gabriel was carrying Elaine bridal style, laughing along with his wife, wedding cake still smeared on his face. Adrien felt his gut clench and set it with the first picture. He picked up the next and found a snapshot of an exhausted yet glowing Elaine holding a baby Adrien, a tiny hand gripping her finger. Adrien felt a tear run down his face. As he continued, the single tear became a steady stream as he relived the few years he had cherished with his mother.

A toddler Adrien laughing uproariously as his mother chased him around the living room. A picture of his parents dancing. A mud covered Adrien grinning shamelessly with an exhausted Gabriel in tow. And so many more.

Adrien finally reached the bottom, with one last heart wrenching picture. It showed Elaine holding Adrien in her lap out on the roof, a telescope nearby. Elaine was pointing out towards the stars and Adrien stared out into the darkness, enthralled. Behind them, Gabriel sat, a loving smile on his face as he stared at his wife and son.

Adrien shut his eyes. He remembered that memory vividly. His father's assistant had come up, stopped dead and whipped out her phone, capturing the moment forever. Adrien also remembered just as vividly what had happened the next week. When the news had come.

 _ **Ten Years Ago**_

"So doctor? What's the diagnosis?" Gabriel asked nervously. Adrien sat in the hallway, listening intently. His parents had been acting weird. He wrinkled his nose. _Even for adults._ They had often changed the subject as he came walking into the room and his curiosity had been piqued, the eight year old that he was. So as a result, he sat, listening curiously as to what could possibly be making his parents act so strangely.

"I… I'm afraid you have Ovarian Cancer." The silence from the room was deafening. Adrien didn't know what Ovarian meant, but he was all too aware of what cancer was. Chloe's mom had gotten it, and then she'd… Adrien's eyes widened. He immediately ran into the room sobbing hysterically, directly into his mother's arms. Elaine stared at her son blankly, her mind a blender of emotions and thoughts. Gabriel was the first to recover.

"There… There have to be treatments. Something to at least slow the process?" He asked, voice quavering.

"Of course. There are many things we can try…" Adrien wasn't listening. All he knew was that his mother was dying, and he wasn't planning on letting go of her anytime soon.

The next few months took their toll on the Agreste Family. Gabriel became more distant. Elaine continually had to go to the hospital for treatments and chemotherapy. When she came home Adrien would always be sitting behind the front door with a flower in his hand. It was four months later, when the cancer finally took its hold completely.

Adrien had fallen asleep in his mother's lap, content to take a nap. She had lulled him to sleep by stroking his hair and singing him a curious song about a horse and apples. The song had always confused Adrien. _How can the horse open the gate?_ He often wondered. He awoke a few hours later and glanced up. Elaine's eyes were closed, her hand on her sons head. Adrien slipped away and tiptoed away from her, trying not to wake her up. It was only later, when he heard the shout of horror from his father that he realized what had truly happened.

 _ **Present**_

Adrien sighed and put the photos back in their box, before adding them to his suitcase, carefully wrapping them up in a shirt. After the funeral his father had changed. He'd become bitter and hateful of all those around him. He hated anything that he couldn't control and Adrien was a living reminder that he couldn't save his wife's life. The anger stewed in Gabriel for two years until one night, a drunken Gabe shoved his son down the stairs.

The abuse became more and more frequent as time went on. Adrien had felt completely isolated from the world. He felt that the planet had turned its back on him, and he was sick of it. He was tired of everything always going against him. He was tired of not having a reason to… Live. Which was when fate threw him a lifeline. A small black box that he almost hadn't bothered to open. A small, sarcastic, ill-tempered, terrible cheese loving kwami had zoomed out and single handedly (though whether Plagg was aware of that or not he wasn't sure) dragged him out of his depression. He'd given him a purpose.

Then the next day he'd met his partner and promptly fallen head over heels in love with her. If things had turned out differently, perhaps he could have had at least a little time with her before Gabe decided to ship him off to America. Adrien unceremoniously dumped the remainder of the clothes in his closet into his suitcase. Zipping it up, he yanked out a second suitcase and began filling that with the contents of his dresser. As he did so, he glanced around his room. Natalie had said that people would get the rest of his possessions later. He nodded to himself and glanced at the clock on his nightstand. 05:20.

Adrien sighed and lay back down in bed, staring at the ceiling. _Six hours till I can see Marinette._

XxXxXxXx

 _Six hours until I can see Adrien._ Marinette thought to herself, staring out the window at a still dark Paris. She sighed, resigning herself to the fact that she wasn't going to fall back asleep, and turned on her PS4. _(A/N: It is criminally overlooked in my opinion that Marinette is BOSS at games. So I had to add that)_

"What to play?" She mused, pondering her impressive collection.

Last of Us? _Nope don't feel like crying right now._

Modern Warfare? _Too easy_

Rainbow Siege Six? _...Nah_

Dark Souls? _Maybe. I'm not sure if I want to scream in frustration._

"I could always finish up Assassin's Creed Syndicate." She finally decided, selecting the game from her shelf. She sighed. The game provided no real challenge but at least it would keep her distracted. The next hour went by considerably less slowly than the one before it, and Tikki woke up, nestling on Mari's shoulder.

"Morning Mari." Tikki yawned.

"Morning Tikki." Mari said, before grinning at a particularly cool assassination move. Tikki flinched.

"Owww." She whispered, holding her own neck in response. "That didn't look fun."

"Nope!" Marinette said, promptly blowing up more gang members.

"Anyways. Are you excited to see Adrien?" Tikki asked. Marinette sighed and paused the game.

"Obviously. But it's more than a little bittersweet." The two sat in silence for a few moments before Mari spoke again. "Hey Tikki? I just… Wanted to say thanks for trusting me last night. I know it can't have been easy to talk about." Tikki sighed.

"It wasn't. But you deserved to know. I don't know how Plagg even acknowledges me let alone still enjoys my company."

"Well… Has a Chat Noir ever betrayed a Ladybug?" Mari asked, curious. Tikki's expression darkened.

"Oh yes. But that's not my story to tell. But at the same time I've never seen Plagg look more ashamed for anything afterwards. He refused to talk to me for forever, purely out of his own guilt.

"Sounds like another cat I know." Marinette muttered, thinking of all the times that Chat Noir hadn't been able to look at her for something he'd thought he'd done. Usually, he hadn't even done anything wrong, but expected some form of reprimanding from her. Marinette remembered clear as day the expression on his face when she had told him it wasn't his fault the first time.

 _ **Two (.5) Years Ago**_

Ladybug sighed as she leaned against the wall, waiting for Chat to show up for patrol. The day had been long already, and as far as days went in general, not excellent. An akuma had shown up in the middle of her History Test, Adrien hadn't shown up to school, and she had a sinking feeling she was going to fail the upcoming physics test as she hadn't had a chance to study for it. And now, Chat was late. Which never happened ever. She mumbled a few choice words about cats under her breath when she heard footsteps behind her.

"Evening Chaton." She said coolly, turning around to face him. "You're late."

"Yeah… Sorry. I fell asleep." He said, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. Mari frowned. There was obviously something else that was bothering him, but he wasn't sharing.

"Chat what's wrong?" Chat jumped guiltily and shot her a nervous glance.

"Well… It's about the fight." He muttered.

"What about it?" She questioned. Chat looked surprised that she didn't know what he was talking about.

"I wanted to apologize for letting that hit get to you." Ladybug's mouth dropped open.

"You're joking right?" She asked after a moment. "Chat.. You were _exhausted._ You'd been fighting him by yourself for at least an hour before I could show up and based on how I actually heard your footsteps and the way you're leaning against that wall, you were exhausted before the fight started. If anything I should be apologizing for not getting there sooner." Chat stared at her, at a complete loss for words.

"Thank you." He whispered. Ladybug tried to discern what was written on his face and was more than a little alarmed by what was there. Relief, gratitude, and a small, tentative smile. But beneath that there was… Sadness? Before she had time to pry into this though, Chat bounced himself off the wall and the smirk was there. That stupid smirk he always had plastered on his face. "Come on my lady. Let's patrol." Ladybug nodded, but as she followed, an unasked question pestered her mind. _How many masks do you wear Chaton?_

 _ **Present**_

Mari frowned, the question again forcing its way into her mind. It didn't help that she now knew who Chat was. Deep down she'd always known that Adrien and Chat had problems at home, but she'd never had the full puzzle. _I do now._ She thought grimly. _But do I dare solve it?_ She was prevented from deciding by a tap on her trapdoor. Tikki immediately whizzed away, and Sabine popped her head in.

"Sweetie isn't a bit early to be…" She checked what game she was playing. "Slicing into gang members in London?" Marinette put an appalled expression on her face.

"It's _never_ too early for that. What's wrong? Do you need any help downstairs?"

"No no. Do you have any plans for today?"

"Yeah I'm hanging out with Adrien from noon until as late as possible." Sabine gave her a confused look. Mari sighed. She'd have to talk about it eventually. "He's leaving. Good old Gabe is moving him to America. We have no idea when he'll be able to come back." Sabine looked stunned, before moving through the trapdoor completely and crouching in front of her daughter.

"How are you doing?" She asked gently.

"Not great." Mari replied, letting out a sigh. "I'm distracting myself as much as possible. Are you sure you don't need any help downstairs? I'll take anything." Sabine smiled softly.

"Unfortunately no. You'll just have to settle for stabbing half of london." Mari chuckled and pulled her in for a hug.

"Thanks Mom. For everything."

"Oh sweetie of course." Sabine replied. After a few more moments of silence, they released each other, and Sabine stood. "Breakfast is ready when you are." She offered with a smile.

"I'll be down soon." Mari promised. Sabine left, and Mari turned back to the television, but couldn't find the will to unpause the game and resume. After a few moments she let out a noise of frustration and set down the controller. She moved across her room and went out onto her balcony. The sun was finally rising, though she couldn't see it from her balcony. Paris had taken on a beautiful orange and pink tinge. She simply stared for a few minutes, watching as the pink began to turn more and more orange. She turned around and prepared to head downstairs when her phone beeped at her. She picked it up and opened it, reading the message.

 _Alya: Hey girl have fun with Adrien this afternoon! I won't be able to text, (babysitting again) but I'll see you at the restaurant._

Mari smiled and sent back a 'see you then!', tossed her phone onto the bed, and went downstairs for breakfast.

* * *

 _A/N: Hey again! Told you it'd be sad. Review time!_

 ** _Panteabooks:_** _So despite your laptop spamming the frick frack out and reposting the review like 40 billion times (twice, same thing) I could decipher it. I really like that idea actually. I didn't even think that far into it but you are probably much more clever than me, and thus you have made me think more in depth for my OWN STORY. (applause) well done well done. You get a cookie._

 ** _Synsoflove:_** _I enjoy hitting people in the feels. It usually means I'm doing my job properly. :D_

 ** _Rose Tiger:_** _I felt like a being couldn't possibly go through thousands of years of existence without experiencing tragedy at least once. I get Tikki is the symbol of luck but no. So yes. Tikki gets a tragic backstory._

 ** _mayuralover:_** _Next on Broadway, written by newcomer Nebilas... **Angst The Musical!** Tag along with 5th year Harry Potter, Plagg the Kwami, Squidward, and Donald Duck, as they tackle every single problem thrown at them, with sarcasm, eye rolling and passive-aggression. Hit songs include: **Oh for the love of god** , **Leave me alone** , **You incompetent f*cker** , and of course, **Jesus H. F*cking Christ I'm done with the world.** (Yeah I like writing angst in case you couldn't tell.)_

 ** _Dan:_** _(cracks knuckles) Just for you Dan... Just for you._

 _Well that's everyone who reviewed. Thank you all for reading! I hope you enjoyed!_

 _Please review please. I enjoy reading them and I feel like I get better when I have people's feedback. Love you all!_

 _Until Next Time!_

 _~Nebilas~_


	8. Chapter 8

_A/N: Warning! Big fat warning. This chapter contains a mention of attempted rape. So you've warned. Still I hope you enjoy._

* * *

 **Chapter 8**

Adrien hated being late. Even if he had an inkling he might be running a few minutes late he started to get a bit twitch. He was always fine once he arrived at his destination, but as he had not yet reached the Dupain-Cheng Bakery, he was _not_ enjoying himself. His terrible luck had continued, despite Natalie's best efforts. When she had knocked on his door, Adrien could easily tell she was seething underneath her calm facade.

" _Your father wants to see you."_

Adrien had come to dread those words from Natalie. But he never blamed her. If anything, he was grateful. A silent angel, constantly in the background of his life. Many never looked her direction when in the same room as an Agreste, but Adrien always noticed. He already owed her so much. But it seemed as though her emotions were starting to slip through, and the way she had said 'father' this morning…

Adrien felt a small smirk tug at his lips. The look she'd given him as he'd thanked her. _I'm on your side._ Plain and clear. He had nodded and she'd left. When he'd walked through the house, he'd stopped in the entrance hall. It was so tempting… To just leave and go on his… _Not a date._ He reminded himself firmly. But even so… He sighed, knowing the consequences would be greater than the reward in this case. So he turned back into the depths of the house and finished the trek to his father's office.

He knocked and waited for the usual "come in." It came maybe five seconds later, and thus Adrien opened the door, wondering what his father had in store for him this time.

"Adrien." The older Agreste said.

 _Person._ "Father."

"Please sit."

 _I don't want to._ "Thanks." He sat down in the chair.

"Natalie will be accompanying you to the states." he informed him.

 _YES._ "I see."

"Your first shoot will be two days from now." Adrien opened his mouth to complain about lack of sleep, but shut it just as quickly. _I don't know why I'm surprised._

"I understand."

"I will not be going to America with you."

"I'm sorry what?" Adrien asked, completely blindsided. Gabriel stared at his son disapprovingly.

"Do not make me repeat myself Adrien." He said sternly.

"Yeah no I got it but… Why?"

Internally there were two Adriens. One was dancing a jig and was positively ecstatic that finally he might have a tiny bit of distance from him for the first time… Well _ever._ The other… Was livid. His father was sending him away from everything he knew and wasn't bothering to go with him. It was by no means the most insulting thing that he'd ever done to Adrien, by any means, but Adrien was more than a little surprised.

"I will be remaining here and running the company." Gabriel said. "And you will be carrying the brand to America."

 _Ah yes spreading the disease._ "Alright. Is there anything else?"

"Yes." Gabriel stood. "You are forbidden from playing the piano." Adrien jolted and stared at his father incredulously.

"May I ask why?" He asked stiffly.

"It will distract you from your work and studies in the states." Gabriel said.

 _I understand father._ "Liar." Gabriel turned around slowly. Adrien paled, having said the wrong thing out loud.

"Do you care to elaborate on that?" Gabe asked dangerously. Adrien could have said no. In fact he opened his mouth to do so, the apology already on his lips. But then he remembered the pictures Natalie had given him of his mother. He stood and crossed his arms.

"I think this is because of Mom. I think that you take everything out on me because you decided long ago that I couldn't ever possibly fill the gaping hole in your heart. Nobody could. But who else could you take your aggression on? And I've become somewhat resistant to the physical blows you give me. But now. Right now. This is where I'm drawing the line. I will continue to play because I enjoy playing the piano, and it's one of the few things that Mom was able to inspire me to do and you will _not_ take that from me. So please tell me _Dad,_ what you will do if I refuse."

Gabriel stared at his son. His face was unreadable. Adrien stared back, his heartbeat drumming in his ears. After what felt like minutes, but was most likely less than fifteen seconds, Gabriel pushed a button on his desk phone.

"Natalie… Cancel my 11:15. I need to have a… Discussion. With Adrien."

"Wow this is the first time you've actually cancelled something for me." Adrien commented. Gabe's retaliation was swift, dealing a devastating punch to the gut. Adrien doubled over and fell to one knee. _Oh gods that was_ so _worth it._ He thought, barely concealing a grin.

"You're right of course Adrien… What can I threaten that would make you not play piano?" Adrien glanced up and realized that his father was removing his over coat. _That bodes well._ He thought sardonically. "I can't just threaten what I have been, that would be… Well _boring._ " Adrien's eyes widened. _That_ was why he wouldn't threaten his friends in this situation? "So… What to do?" Gabe stared at him for a minute before a vicious smirk crossed his face. "I think I've got it. The Dupain-Cheng's." Adrien twitched. "Thought that might get a reaction. Oh don't worry I won't drive them out of business… Yet. But it would be unfortunate if they were… Shall we say relieved of some of their money at some point?"

"Don't touch them." Adrien hissed. Gabe laughed, sending a chill down Adrien's spine.

"Me? I'll do no such thing. But of course there are certain things that money can buy… You can buy anyone! Muggers, murderers… Rapists." Before Adrien could react, Gabe landed a vicious kick into his side, leaving Adrien lying on the floor gasping for air. "So for their sakes.. I would recommend not playing piano. Let's see…" Gabe said glancing at his watch. _Oh fuck that was my kidney. That won't be fun later._ Adrien thought, keeping his eyes closed. "11:13. Your date was at what? 11:30?" Adrien's eyes widened. _How does he know about that?_ "Well.. Hopefully you wake up in time." And with that he kicked Adrien in the head, and everything went black.

Which was how Adrien now found himself running to the Dupain-Cheng Bakery, exceedingly late, while trying to bribe Plagg in not telling Marinette exactly why he was running late. Plagg was apoplectic with rage, and was refusing to budge, even with all of the camembert Adrien was offering.

"No kid. I've had enough. I'm telling her the truth."

"Plagg please she has enough on her plate."

"Well you need _someone_ to know! You need someone in your goddamn corner!"

"Plagg please I'm _begging_ you."

"WHY DO YOU INSIST ON PROTECTING HIM?" Plagg roared, now completely fed up with his chosens attitude.

"Because he's my father!" Adrien shouted back.

" _Is he?_ " Plagg shot back. "He doesn't act like it! You know what? Fine. You do you. I don't fucking care anymore. After all, you know everything."

"Plagg!" Adrien protested as the cat kwami made a very rude gesture and buried himself further into his jacket pocket. Adrien stared at it worriedly, but he needn't have worried because it took maybe ten seconds before the kwami spoke again.

"Look kid I'm just saying. You can't _walk_ straight right now because of him." Adrien grimaced. It was true. He almost certainly had a concussion. He would be lying if he said that he was completely fine. He still had a few black spots covering his vision, and a more rational (and less concussed) Adrien would almost certainly declare this to be a terrible idea, tell Mari and have her take him to a hospital. But the other Adrien who hadn't been on a date since his father had 'suggested' he date Chloe, was… Wait no. This wasn't a date. _Definitely not. No way. We're hanging out as friends because I don't want to ask her to wait._

"Adrien!" A voice called. Adrien whipped around and found Marinette leaning out of the bakery, looking bemused. "You overshot a bit." She teased playfully, a grin playing across her face. Adrien's poor brain temporarily overloaded. _I'm so screwed._

"Ah sorry! Just lost in thought I guess." He said laughing, heading back, trying desperately to walk in a straight line. _Jesus I may as well be drunk._ He thought bitterly. _Thanks Dad._ "So.. Ready princess?" He asked, grinning at her as he approached, hoping it would pass the test. He hadn't been through acting school for nothing.

"Your Chat is showing Adrien." Mari replied, tapping his nose with a devious smirk.

"Well what can I say princess? It's who I am."

"That at least I can approve of." She said grinning. "Though you are late." She pointed out, cocking an eyebrow.

"Last minute packing." Adrien said, feeling horrible for lying, but at the same time he hoped she wouldn't call him on it. _Or do I? Would it really be so terrible for her to know?_ Adrien resisted the temptation to groan. _Damn_ his head hurt.

"I guess I'll have to forgive you." Mari said sighing dramatically. Adrien chuckled and proffered his arm.

"Shall we?" He asked, just as dramatically. Mari laughed and took his arm.

"We're such dorks." She said, still laughing.

"Yes we are. I love it." He grinned. _I love you._ The thought passed through both of their heads, but neither could voice it.

The two headed to the park, chatting the whole way, but Adrien couldn't help but feel the new tension that was between them. There had always been a certain amount of sexual tension between them, but now… Now that they knew they were in love with each other, it was going haywire. Both were desperately trying to avoid the topic, both afraid of hurting the other. The two stopped by an ice cream shop, and continued their walk through the park, and Mari was finishing the tale of the time Alya had threatened an entire restaurant.

"She did NOT." Adrien gasped.

"She did!" Mari said, shaking her head. "Just stood on the table and screamed that if anyone so much as looked at me, they would at best leave with a broken arm or leg. I was mortified of course."

"Oh man.. Reason number 437 to not mess with Alya."

"What are the other 436?" Mari teased.

"Shh. Details." Adrien grinned. "Besides, I've already been on the end of her wrath once. I'd rather not have that happen again."

"When was this?" Mari asked, turning to him, surprised. Adrien sighed.

"Remember that stretch when Dad made me date Chloe?" he asked. Mari shuddered.

"Unfortunately."

"Yeah well, I was tired… After an akuma fight and I'm sure you were too, but I was so far out of it that I didn't even realize that you two had gotten into an argument. The two of you turned to me and asked for my opinion and I just muttered something along the lines of 'please shut up both of you'."

"I remember that!" Mari exclaimed. "She was accusing me of stealing her pencil of all things."

"Yeah well Alya didn't hear the whole thing. What she thought she heard was me telling you to shut up."

"Oh.. Oh no." Mari said worriedly.

"Yeah so I stagger out into the hallway right? This girl pins me against a wall and threatens to feed my junk to an alligator if I so much as looked at you funny. I was so tired I started crying."

" _No."_ Mari said, mouth hanging open.

"Yah. In hindsight, the look on her face was priceless. Nino came to save me and I promptly went home and slept for fourteen hours." Adrien said, finishing his ice cream cone and dropping the wrapper in a nearby trash can. "She apologized profusely once she realized what actually happened." Adrien pursed his lips thoughtfully. "You know, completely unrelated I think Chloe was the first time I resisted my father's wishes."

"Really?" Mari asked surprised.

"Yeah.. He tried so hard to get me back with her but… No. I was just done."

"What happened?" Mari asked. "Usually you're so patient what could she have done that…" She saw Adrien's face and quickly backtracked. "Of course we don't have to talk about this if you don't want to." She offered. Adrien sighed.

"Nah. It'll be good for me. She kept.. Pushing me into situations I wasn't comfortable with at all. If you understand." Mari understood immediately.

"How bad?" She asked.

"That girl was set on losing her virginity. I was steadfastly against it. But she kept trying and actually spiked my drink once. Fortunately I saw her put the pill in but-"

"She _what?_ " Mari asked dangerously.

"Mari it's okay really-"

"Oh I will _flay_ her!" Mari shrieked. Adrien sighed but smiled all the same. But this was also why he didn't want to tell her about the.. Problem with his father.

"Please don't."

"Give me some motivation to not." She growled, glaring at him.

"They don't have netflix in prison." He suggested.

"Shit." She grumbled. Adrien laughed, but he cut off when he heard screams. The two whirled around to find a stream of people running away from the center of the park.

"Of course." The two said simultaneously. They glanced at each other and ran to find cover so they could transform. As Adrien followed Mari, his concussed head forcefully reminded him of its presence. Adrien gasped and clutched it as he ran. Maybe when he transformed it would get better? They finally got to a hiding place suitable enough and they transformed. Adrien closed his eyes, hoping that his head would be fine. It felt like somebody was slicing his head open. _So nope._

"My Lady there could be a problem." He said, gritting his teeth, trying to ignore the searing pain in his head.

"Now Chaton? Can it wait?"

"I doubt it." Chat gasped. She turned to face him.

"What's wrong?" She asked, concerned. Chat opened his mouth to argue, but suddenly his eyes went wide and he shoved her to the ground and promptly got hammered by a cannon ball and was smashed into a brick wall ten meters away. "CHAT!" She shrieked in horror and sprinted over to him, and took his pulse. _Alive, but he's out like a light._ A trail of blood appeared from within his hair and fell down along his forehead and down his cheek. Mari turned around and found the akuma quickly. It was laughing maniacally and carrying a modified cannon. Her shock was turning into rage. She turned back to Chat and winced at the way his arm was mangled.

"A shame. I was hoping to dismember him while he was awake!" The akuma called.

 _Oh you are fucking going down._

* * *

 _A/N: Bruh. Don't piss off Mari. That just screams trouble. I hope you enjoyed. Fight brewing. Maybe Volpina will show up. :D_

 _Sorry this AN is so short. I'm registering for college classes so I'm a bit distracted. I hope ya'll have a good day!_

 _Until Next Time!_

 _~Nebilas~_


	9. Chapter 9

_Damn this chapter is long. Ok so let me say a few things. IF you also follow my Harry Potter AU story, I'm sorry. I haven't been able to write jack shit for a month and I'm just further ahead on this one than HP. Now... Sigh. I have no idea when the next update for either story will be. It could be completely possible that this will be updated in two weeks as per usual but I can't make any promises. College starts pretty damn quick and what I CAN promise is that I will not be giving up on either of these. I promise. I just haven't had the motive to write honestly. Which frustrates the hell out of me because I have all of these ideas I just can't type them out for whatever obscure reason. UGGGH._

 _It also doesn't help that I'm totally in a Harry Potter mood. But not a miraculous Harry Potter mood. Just Harry Potter. I mean I wrote a scene last night for it between Harry and Ginny (or Hermione). I might switch it so that it's part of the HP AU. I don't know. I'll let you guys know. Onto the reviews!_

 ** _Rose Tiger:_** _Shhh be patient._

 ** _acupfullofcolors:_** _Sigh I know I'm sorry but the fact is that this is an abuse story. That's how I'm writing it and you know Adrien doesn't want to hurt his dad and he certainly doesn't want his lady to do it either. So.. Yeah. I guess I'll just let it play out. What I can say is that Gabe WILL get what's coming to him._

 ** _Synsoflove:_** _That won't be resolved this chapter I'm afraid. (Paciencia y fae)_

 ** _panteabooks:_** _Shhh let the cinamon roll rest. He's not going to die yet I promise. Wait did I say yet? I didn't mean yet. (Coughs awkwardly) ANYWAYS ABOUT THAT ANIME WE WERE TALKING ABOUT-_

 ** _Haoyoh Asakura:_** _I'm glad you enjoyed it. I'm assuming you meant update not upgrade during your review. But I did upgrade and I don't mean to brag but I have been working out. (Poses gloriously in mirror) yeah no jk I've been sitting on my butt and am currently eating a popsicle in bed. ;3 kisses_

 _Thank you guys I love you all! Please continue to review/review/follow/favorite all that good stuff. Have a good one. :)_

 **Chapter 9**

"Welcome to the battlefield Ladybug! I'm afraid the time for your demise is now! I am Canonaide, and I-"

"Yeah I don't care." Ladybug snarled. The akuma stopped.

"But… I had a monologue prepared."

"Well you see I would like to get this wrapped up because I was having a lovely day out with my friend and you came and ruined that before throwing my partner against a wall. So please shut because I'm pissed at you and I can't _wait_ to punch you in the nose. So. _En garde."_ And with that she sprinted full tilt at the akuma. Said akuma was woefully unprepared, and could not reload his modified cannon in time. Ladybug took full advantage of this and delivered a roundhouse kick to his side, knocking the breath from his lungs.

Cannonaide recovered quickly however and fired a quick barrage of cannonballs in her direction, forcing her to roll out of the way. She crouched behind a group of bushes, while waving at several civilians to leave. However they seemed to be intent on filming and despite the fact that their cameras were directed at the action, they were very slow in realizing the next volley of cannonballs were headed straight for them. Ladybug quickly flung her yoyo and snagged two and yanked them out of the way.

"WOULD YOU MOVE PLEASE?" she roared. A few civilians meekly apologized and promptly fled. "Thank you god." she muttered, moving to cover again. As she surveyed the scene an orange blur landed behind her. Reacting on impulse she tackled the blur and pinned it.

"Ow! Hey!" The blur protested. Mari's eyes widened.

"You!" She growled.

"Wait no I'm not I swear I'm not her! I'm the real one!" Volpina protested. Mari hesitated. Chat had said the new girl would be Volpina… the outfit was slightly different, but her complexion was the same, but her eyes… Hazel. Not green. Ladybug relaxed slightly.

"Sorry." Ladybug muttered.

"No it's… It's fine. I remember when that girl got akumatized, you're right to be jumpy." Volpina said. "Also this probably isn't the best scenario for introductions." she added, peering over the bushes. "I was planning on dropping in on patrol one of these nights but I was in the area bab-" she cut herself off and glanced at Ladybug guiltily. Ladybug nodded approvingly.

"I see Chat told you about the identity thing."

"Yeah.. He knows mine, but he said you don't, and I don't know his. What's the situation on you two?" Volpina questioned. Ladybug cocked an eyebrow.

"I could tell you but then I'd have to kill you." She replied, checking on Cannonaide, who was drawing nearer. Volpina grinned.

"Maybe someday. Where is the kitty anyway?"

"Out of commision." Ladybug muttered. Volpina's grin vanished.

"Well shit. I was hoping you two could coach me and I could direct civilians."

"Yeah. Do you know how to use that thing?" Ladybug asked, gesturing at Volpina's flute.

"Not well. Still getting the hang of it though Trixx has been helping."

"I'm.. Assuming that's your kwami. Okay. Quick rundown of how to hero. Rule one! Be careful and don't die. Rule two! Don't taunt the akuma unless I ask you to," (Volpina looked slightly put out at this) "Rule three!: Civilians come first, blah blah we don't have time for the rest. Got it?"

"Uhm… Yes?" Volpina said unsurely.

"You'll be fine Fox." Ladybug said smiling. "Now. When I say so, step out into the open. I'm hoping the fact that you're new will confuse him."

"Is that really the best plan?"

"No but I only get to use it this one time with you so we might as well try." Ladybug said.

"Sweet." Volpina grinned. Ladybug dashed out from behind the bushes and into Cannonaide's line of view.

"Give me your miraculous!" he boomed. Ladybug didn't even bother responding and flashed her yoyo around the cannon and yanked. Unfortunately the cannon was strapped to his arm, which she was not prepared for so she ended up straining her shoulder.

"Now Fox now!" She shouted, quickly switching to plan B.

"Fox?" Cannonaide asked confused.

"Oi! Dunce!" Volpina shouted.

"Rule number two! Rule number two!" Ladybug shouted. Volpina stuck her tongue out at the spotted hero.

"Uhm… Hawkmoth? Sir? I'm confused. You said there were only the cat and the bug." Cannonaide seemed to listen for a few moments, not noticing Ladybug sneaking around him.

"Certainly sir. As you say." Cannonaide refocused on Volpina. "I have been given free reign, just as I have the other two. However, you are new, and _I_ am merciful. Hand over your miraculous or I'm afraid I will have to kill you.

"Woah woah time out what?" Volpina asked, staring at the akuma. "Since when do you guys want to murder?" Cannonaide shrugged, seemingly unperturbed.

"I guess Hawkmoth no longer cares how we get the miraculous anymore. So give it to me." he said forcefully. Volpina pouted.

"I don't wanna." She whined.

"Fine then I have no choice but to-" Ladybug's yoyo completely blindsided him and smashed into the back of his head, rendering him unconscious.

"Well thank you for that information." Ladybug growled, searching for where the akuma could be hiding. "Gotcha!" She crowed, holding aloft a history textbook. She ripped it in half and the akuma broke free. Almost lazily, she caught the purple butterfly in her yoyo before releasing it back into the sky, white and pure. "Piss off stupid little butterfly." she grumbled. "Miraculous Ladybug!" She shouted, throwing her yoyo to the sky.

"Woah salty much?" Volpina laughed as the swarm of ladybug magic made it's way through the park.

"Well it did interrupt my da- outing with my friend." Volpina's eyebrows raised.

"You were about to say date!" She whispered.

"No I wasn't." Ladybug said, starting to turn pink.

"Alright I won't press. Yet." Volpina said grinning widely.

"Good." Ladybug grumbled.

"You know you mutter a lot." Volpina said cheerfully.

"I don't mutter." Ladybug muttered.

"Anyways. Are you doing a patrol tonight?"

"No. I have some plans with friends."

"Oh yeah so do I." Volpina said. Then her eyes went wide. "Oh crap I have to go! I'll see you tomorrow night? Where do you usually start patrol?"

"Five blocks east of the Eiffel Tower." Ladybug said, anxious to get back to Chat.

"Alright. See you then! Tell the cat I said feel better!" And with that, she took off. Mari immediately turned on her heel and ran back to where Chat was. She reached him as he began stirring, his arm looking much more normal than it had when she'd left to go fight.

"Ow." He said, flexing his no longer broken arm, frowning at it. "You okay?" He asked her, looking up at her concerned.

"Am _I_ okay?" she shrieked. Chat stared at her, suddenly aware that she was glaring daggers at him.

"Did… I do something wrong?" He asked carefully.

"Yes." She growled. Chat sighed.

"If this is about pushing you out of the way you know full well how I feel about that." He said firmly, rising to his feet.

"Chat Noir you could have died!" She exclaimed.

"You could have too. And you know I'm not going to stop." He pointed out softly.

"I…" She deflated quickly, already conceding the argument that they'd had several times before now. "I know it's just.." Chat quickly pulled her in for a hug and she closed her eyes, breathing in his scent. _Beep! Beep!_

"You're about to switch back. Go ahead." He said.

"But you know already. You can come with." She said, cocking her head.

"It'll look suspicious if we change our habits." Chat pointed out. "We always go in opposite directions. We'll meet back here in five minutes."

"Fine." Mari muttered. She frowned. _Maybe I do mutter too much._

"Why the frown?" Chat asked, pausing right before he ran off.

"Oh, just something Volpina said."

"Oh you met her! Good!" Chat said with a smile.

"Yeah I-" _Beep beep!_ "Later." She said. And with that they ran off in their opposite directions to de-transform. After a minute, she ducked into an alley and released Tikki. Tikki zoomed out, already yawning.

"I'm hungry." She said, stretching. She paused mid-stretch. "I sound like Plagg." she said to nobody in particular. Marinette smiled and handed her kwami a cookie which she devoured.

"So Tikki.. Did you hear what the akuma said?"

"About being able to kill you now? I did." she said before taking a large bite of cookie.

"What do you think?"

"I think.." Tikki said thoughtfully (or she was swallowing cookie it was hard to tell) "it means that Hawkmoth is getting more desperate. He's now willing to get your miraculous through any means possible. Which means we'll have to be very careful."

"Yeah… And Volpina?"

"I can't tell you who to trust Marinette. That's ultimately your decision. But I don't think she will betray you." Tikki replied sagely.

"Thank you Tikki."

"Oh of course Marinette. Now go see your boyfriend." Mari blushed.

"He's not-"

"Yeah yeah I know you're just desperately in love with each other." Tikki said, rolling her eyes. "Go see him." With that she zoomed back into Mari's purse, and Mari ran jogged back to the place they'd left. Adrien had already returned, and was sitting on the ground tapping his feet together.

"Hey princess. I missed you." He said grinning. Mari rolled her eyes but laughed anyways.

"Oh heaven forbid I'm apart from you for three minutes." She joked. Adrien jumped to his feet.

"So how'd you feel about the new girl?" He asked.

"Good! She keeps a cool head that's for sure. I doubt she's ever panicked in her life." Mari said thoughtfully. Adrien smirked. "What?" she asked, bemused by the look on his face.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" He teased.

"Uhm.. Yeah. I would actually." She said, poking him in the side.

"Secrets, princess." He laughed, starting to walk away.

"Get back here!" She growled, trotting after him. She quickly caught up and the two continued their walk through the park in silence for a few minutes, simply enjoying each other's company. Eventually though, Mari turned and brought up the topic that had been dropped earlier. "You still shouldn't throw yourself in front of me you know." Adrien resisted the urge to sigh.

"I have always and always _will_ continue to throw myself in front of attacks meant for you until the day I die." He said calmly, before wincing at his choice of words.

" _That's what I'm afraid of!"_ Mari hissed. "I don't want you to risk yourself for me!"

"Mari we've had this discussion several times and it always ends with this. If I were about to die and you had the chance to save me, but it could potentially kill you, would you do it?" He asked glancing down at her.

"That's different." Mari muttered. Adrien stopped walking and stared at her incredulously.

"Ho- I- That doesn't make… What?" He spluttered. "How? Please explain." He said, crossing his arms.

"I… Well… Because it is." Mari said crossing her arms as well. Adrien laughed and shook his head.

"When you have a valid argument, I'll listen princess." He said, resuming his walk.

"I love you." She called. Adrien stopped. "Is that valid enough?" Adrien sighed and turned around.

"I'm afraid not." He said softly. "Because I love you too, and I'll do anything to protect the people I love." Mari felt herself turn red, and she quickly walked up to him. She quickly stood on her toes and pressed her lips to his cheek.

"Thank you Chaton." she whispered. She stepped back and watched his face. He stared at her, looking a bit conflicted, as if he wanted to say something more.

Eventually he simply said, "Of course my lady." Mari sighed. There had been something else he'd wanted to say, but he'd stopped. _Why?_ She wondered. _What won't you tell me?_ She desperately wanted answers to those questions but in the end, she simply smiled.

"Should we go to my house and binge play video games?" she asked.

"That… Is an excellent idea." Adrien said grinning. The two started to head back to the bakery, already trash talking.

"I'm gonna wipe the floor with you." Mari said.

"We haven't even chosen the game yet!" Adrien laughed.

"Doesn't matter. We all know what's gonna happen." she fired back. Paris continued its normal routine. The akuma fights all but a mild inconvenience after three years, people went about their daily routine unless directly affected, which was beginning to frustrate a certain man in a butterfly mask to no end.

"Nooroo." He murmured, releasing his transformation.

"Yes?" Nooroo asked, exhausted and hoping that his master would remember to feed him this time.

"It has been three years since we've begun this escapade."

"It's felt like thirty." Nooroo muttered.

"What?" Hawkmoth snapped.

"Nothing, nothing…"

"So we're going to be trying a new strategy."

"And what is that?" Nooroo asked, feigning interest.

"We're going after those who are _truly_ hurting from now on." Nooroo suddenly realized just what his master was implying and he quickly tried to turn him away from this track.

"Now master hold on, perhaps we should continue with-"

"Silence." Hawkmoth growled. Nooroo snapped his mouth shut. "My mind is made up. But who to test it on…" He tapped the desk before rising suddenly. "Regardless. I will have to think on this tomorrow." With that he strode out of the room, leaving a very worried kwami behind him, wishing desperately he had some way to contact his kwami counterparts.

XxXxXxXxXx

Unfortunately for Adrien, his trash talking only hyped Marinette up for their marathon, which was something she didn't need. She was already impossible enough to beat without getting her ultra competitive. Adrien quickly found himself on the losing end of Call of Duty, Mario Kart, Halo, and unsurprisingly, literally any other game he desperately chose from the shelf. Marinette laughed at a mopey Adrien as she finished off his character in Mortal Kombat.

"Oh cheer up kitty." She said, smiling smugly. "It's not like you're bad at games… You just can't touch me." Adrien grumbled something under his breath and Mari's grin became wider. "Sorry kitty? What was that? You want me to beat you in Mecha-Strike 4 next? Ok!"

"Lovely as that sounds," Adrien said quickly, hoping to prevent another ass-kicking. "We should probably start getting ready." Mari glanced at the clock. It was nearly time for their reservation.

"Fine." She sighed. "Let's get ready. Your clothes are over there." She said, pointing at a bag in the corner.

"Wait what?" Adrien asked, confused. Mari smirked.

"Go change."

"But.. I brought my own-"

"Adrien. Trust me." Adrien sighed and collected the bag, before disappearing into the bathroom. Mari chewed on her finger nervously, before walking up the set of stairs to her bed, where she had her own outfit prepared. She put it on and went over to her mirror and began applying makeup.

Downstairs, a very confused Adrien was inspecting himself in the bathroom mirror. Even by his ridiculous standards, the tuxedo Marinette had obviously made for him was impeccable. She had given him an emerald tie, which would bring out his eyes. She had also stitched in a Chat Noir paw print over his left pocket, which would be hidden when he put a rose there, which he had a sneaking suspicion would also be provided. Adrien was often very critical of the way he looked, being the subject of several thousand cameras during his lifetime, but he had to admit… He looked good. The only question was..

 _Where the hell are we eating dinner?_

"Marinette?" He called up, exiting the bathroom. "Where exactly are we eating?" A faint laugh reached his ears.

"Spoilers!" She shouted back down. "How does it fit?"

"It's perfect. It… It looks good. Really really good." He paused before questioning "When exactly did you have time to do this?"

"Ages ago. Though the little design by the pocket was.. More recent." Adrien smiled, climbing the stairs, only to find the door locked at the top.

"Aw Mari…"

"Head downstairs, Alya and Nino should be showing up soon." Mari said. Adrien could hear her grin on the other side of the door.

"So I don't get a sneak peek?" He asked, teasing.

"Absolutely not. I locked my door for this reason." She said firmly.

"Sad day." Adrien said laughing.

"Yes yes very sad. I'll see you in a few minutes." She said pointedly, and Adrien took this as his cue to leave. "Your rose is on my sewing table." She added once she heard him start to go down. He quickly found the white rose sitting on the table, and he pinned it to his jacket. He tapped the table near to where Plagg and Tikki were cuddling. Plagg jumped up and walked over, yawning.

Adrien waved at Tikki, who smiled at him, before curling up to go back to sleep, presumably. Plagg slipped into Adrien's pocket, and Adrien opened the trapdoor and went downstairs. As he walked into the living room he heard a gasp and he turned to find Sabine and Tom openly staring at him.

"What?" He asked, bemused.

"Adrien you look…" Tom began.

"Incredible!" Sabine gushed.

"I was going to say ravishing but whatever floats your boat dear." Tom said laughing.

"You aren't supposed to say that honey." Sabine chuckled as Adrien howled with laughter. "But really dear, you look fantastic." she said, smiling warmly.

"Thank you." Adrien said, a wide smile on his face. "Do you two have any idea where they're dragging me?" He asked, a curious look on his face.

"We don't." Sabine said, smiling. "And even if we did…"

"Mari would have sworn us to secrecy." Tom laughed. Adrien chuckled.

"That's true." he said, when someone knocked on the door. Sabine left to answer it, leaving Adrien with Tom.

"So.. America?" Tom asked. Adrien sighed.

"Not exactly by choice." he replied, sinking into a chair.

"Then why go?" Tom prodded.

"Well… I'm still technically seventeen. But even after that… Well I'm more than a little ingrained into the Agreste company at this point."

"That may be true son, but you have to think about yourself at some point." Tom reasoned, placing a comforting hand on Adrien's shoulder. Adrien nodded his thanks, but inside he knew that he couldn't afford to do that. "Sounds like Sabine is coming back." Tom smiled, hearing conversation approaching them.

Sabine entered the room, tailed by Nino and Alya, both wearing huge grins. Nino wore a basic tux with a purple tie, which suited him well. Alya was wearing an orange dress, which Adrien wouldn't have pegged as her color, but she was rocking it anyway, practically oozing confidence, and looking gorgeous. She took one look at Adrien and whistled.

"Damn Agreste you clean up fine." She said, grinning.

"You don't look too bad yourself." He replied. He held back a smirk as he decided to have a bit of fun with the new hero. "Looking a bit _Foxy_ over there." Alya's grin vanished and her eyes went wide, clearly panicking. Adrien moved on to Nino as though nothing had happened.

"You look good bro." Nino said grinning.

"I always forget you actually have hair under that hat of yours." Adrien chuckled.

"Oh shut up." Nino laughed, lightly punching Adrien's arm.

"Not a chance." Adrien grinned.

"Where's Marinette?" Nino asked.

"Here." Mari answered from the stairs. Adrien turned around, ready to poke fun at her hiding away in her bedroom, but immediately lost the ability to speak. To say that he wasn't ready for what he saw would be like saying 'Mt. Everest is tall.' Because Adrien was woefully unprepared for what he was faced with.

Marinette had chosen a pink, strapless dress, and she looked breathtaking. The dress didn't leave much to the imagination, showing off her features perfectly. And stitched right on the right hand side, almost invisible, was her signature. _Because of course she made it herself._ Adrien thought, mind hardly capable of forming coherent thoughts. She had taken her hair out of the usual pigtails, and had simply let it flow into its natural waves. The five people in the room stared at her, awestruck.

"Does it look okay?" Mari asked shyly. Alya was the first to recover and let out a bark of laughter.

"You're joking right? Girl you look _phenomenal._ " Nino nodded vigorously. Mari looked at Adrien and he snapped his mouth shut, realizing that it had fallen open at some point. He struggled with words for a few moments before finally just shaking his head.

"Wow Mari." He murmured. "Just wow."

"You look incredible dear." Sabine said as Marinette finished going down the stairs.

"Thanks Mom." She smiled, pulling her mom in for a hug.

"Question." Adrien said, and the group turned to look at him. "Where are we _going_?" Alya grinned.

"Oh don't worry Agreste. We've also got a little surprise for you on the way there." She said smirking.

"I'm not sure if I should be excited or worried." He muttered. He and Mari glanced at each other.

"Both." They said simultaneously.

"Our ride is here." Nino said, pulling out his phone.

"Ride?" Adrien asked.

"You'll see." Mari laughed grabbing his hand and pulling him towards the door. "Bye Mom and Dad. Love you!"

"Love you too!" They called back.

"Have fun!" Sabine called.

"But not too much!" Tom said, putting on a fake scowl.

"Ignore him!" Sabine laughed. Nino saluted and the four found themselves out front. Before them was a limo. Nino and Alya climbed in, flirting the whole way. Mari followed, still holding Adrien's hand.

"Somebody needs to start explaining now." Adrien said, cocking an eyebrow.

"Get in first." Mari coaxed, pulling him in, a devious grin on her face.

"Alright fine fine." Adrien chuckled. The limo driver shut the door behind Adrien, as he was the last one in, and walked back around. He started the engine and Adrien's last night in Paris officially began.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

"Alright we can tell him where we're going now." Alya said as the limo began to drive away.

"Yay!" Adrien said grinning. "So?"

"You can't get mad." Mari said. Adrien's grin faded.

"How expensive-"

"Pierre Gagnaire." Nino rushed out. "Now before you say-"

"No." Adrien said flatly. "I'm not letting you pay for that. No way I know how expensive that restaurant is. Amazing? Yes. Expensive? Oh my god."

"We aren't paying and neither are you." Alya said, a small smile beginning to creep onto her face. "Nino tell him."

"Well.." Nino said, suddenly looking guilty. "It's possible.. I mean completely hypothetical of course there's no proof at all but there _might_ be a security leak in Gabriel Agreste's credit card account. And _hypothetically_ one could potentially… Borrow- Borrow sounds better than steal. Actually I like liberate. One could liberate some money off of him to pay for his offspring's final dinner in Paris until he returns."

"You didn't." Adrien breathed.

"I did." Nino whispered, dreading his best friends reaction. Adrien stared at him for a few seconds before taking a deep breath.

"How much did you take?" He asked.

"Ten thousand. I didn't want to make a huge splash."

"You should've taken more." Adrien chuckled. "Ten thousand is pocket change for him. Think it over next time." Nino's face sagged in relief. "Dinner is on Dad. I'm down."

"Oh thank god we were terrified you would bail." Alya laughed. Mari grinned too, but she couldn't help but notice the brief look of dissatisfaction that crossed Adrien's face. He wasn't one usually to plot revenge, but here, he still looked unsatisfied. As though he would love for nothing more than to rip down the empire of Gabriel Agreste. _Or I'm overthinking this._ Mari thought, rolling her eyes at herself. Little did she know, she was spot on, and Adrien was silently wishing for the family picture in the living room to fall on his father and break his neck.

Twenty minutes of conversation, laughter, and general excitement later, they arrived. They piled out of the limo and headed towards the front. Alya was in her element, exuding confidence and quite frankly, acting like the entire world should be bowing down to her. Which was exactly what the man standing at the door ended up doing, practically leaping up from his spot and opening said door for them. Alya and Mari walked up to the host desk, where a young woman stood, and leaving Nino and Adrien behind for a moment.

"Welcome." She smiled. "My name is Angela, and I will be your waiter this evening. Do you have a reservation?"

"We do." Alya replied.

"Name?"

"Agreste." Alya said, a tone of amusement in her voice. Angela started and quickly scanned them, before her eyes landed on the blonde a few meters behind them. Marinette's gut twinged as she felt that Angela stared a bit longer than was strictly necessary.

"Of course." Angela said, recovering quickly. "Follow me please." The girls signalled to the boys who joined them. Angela led them to a table, laying out their menus for them. Adrien sat across from Marinette, and Alya sat across from Nino. Angela left and the four began conversation, all avoiding the elephant in the room. _Adrien's last night._

This thought managed to persist throughout the night, and even Marinette was glad for the brief interludes when Angela came back to the table to take their orders, and not so subtly flirt with Adrien. Adrien, however, was too busy slipping down the slope of gloom to notice. It wasn't that he wasn't having fun, he was. It was the constant reminders that this was it. The last time he'd be with his three best friends. His family.

Yet despite all of this, the four had a wonderful time. They were desperate to hold onto any time they got together, and were incredibly successful at ignoring the gloom and doom hovering over them. They finally ordered their food, sipping on their drinks (non-alcoholic for Adrien) and the conversation finally turned to what they had been avoiding.

"So… When will you be back?" Alya asked softly. Silence fell on the table before Adrien finally answered.

"I don't know. There is no date set for a return. I have no idea if there will be a return. At least not one that is permitted."

"Are you thinking of going against him?" Nino asked, a twinge of hopefulness present in his eyes. Adrien sighed.

"If by thinking about it you mean wishing I had the balls to do it literally every second of every day then yes."

"Then why don't you?" Alya pressed.

"Why do you think?" Adrien asked dully.

"Dude come on we'll be fine-"

"I mean really Adrien we won't-

"Adrien please we'll be ok I-"

" _No."_ Adrien growled. The three shut up. Adrien sighed and gripped his pant leg as his head throbbed, yet again reminding him of the concussion he'd been trying to ignore. He refocused on his friends after a few moments. "I refuse to put any of you in danger. Do you understand me?" It was eventually Nino who broke the silence.

"Fine. But I'm gonna come visit." He grumbled.

"Please do. I'll help pay." Adrien replied, smiling weakly. Which was right when the door to the restaurant flew open. The four stared and found an unfortunate sight. A woman in all black with glowing red eyes.

"Where is the owner of this establishment?" She roared. Angela fled towards the back of the restaurant, clearly in search for them. Nobody dared move or speak. About five minutes later Angela returned with the owner. The owner took a deep breath and began walking through the various tables, attempting to remain calm. "You are the owner?" The akumatized woman addressed him as he approached.

"Yes." The man whispered, stopping a few feet short of her.

"So it is your fault." She murmured. Suddenly her hand shot out and she grabbed him by the neck. "You killed my son." She whispered. "And now you will pay." The owner screamed as her eyes blazed red. She dropped him and he gasped for air, scrambling away from her.

"What have you done?" he gasped, clutching his chest.

"I'm punishing you. Goodbye." The man gasped as his hand suddenly fell through his chest.

"Help me!" He shouted. "Someone!" Everyone watched in abject horror as he began to fall apart. He tried to run but his feet turned into sand under his weight. As horrible as it was, people were silently relieved when the sand finally overtook his math and they could no longer hear the screams. The woman in black suddenly pointed to Alya.

"You. You run the Ladyblog correct?"

"Yes." Alya said, looking very pale.

"Good. I would like you to livestream me. I have a message for Paris'... Heroes." Alya scrambled for phone and started the livestream.

"Hey guys it's me Alya… We've got an akuma, and she has an announcement." She turned the phone to the akumatized woman.

"Ladybug. Chat Noir. Listen to me very carefully. Hawkmoth no longer cares if you live or die. He says this game has gone on for long enough. I have free reign to do as I please to whomever I please. In fact, he says he would much prefer you dead as opposed to alive. Just some food for thought. You will meet me in half an hour underneath the Eiffel Tower. If you do not show up, I will make Paris look like a beach." She gestured to the pile of sand behind her. "I hope you understand. I have nothing against you. I simply want to enforce justice. But you have a habit of standing in the way of akumas. Thus I must get you out of the way first. Please meet me there, and we can end this quickly. Say goodbye to your families."

Mari felt a shiver go down the back of her neck. This akuma was serious. By far one of the most severe they'd seen. She cast a glance at Adrien who was tensed up, as though ready to strike if need be. In fairness, he probably was. The akuma turned on her heel and stormed off towards the kitchen.

"Get out." she snarled, before turning and blasting in. The following shouts of shock quickly turned into screams of terror and people immediately began fleeing the restaurant. The four quickly got swept into the panicked crowd, when three of them found themselves quickly separated from Nino.

"I've got to find him!" Alya shouted, before taking off. Mari missed Adrien's knowing smirk.

"Come on kitty let's go." Mari whispered. The two quickly ran to a nearby alley, and after confirming it was empty, transformed. They raced out of the alley and charged through the doors just as the akuma walked in.

"My goodness you got here fast." The akuma chuckled.

"No clever name?" Chat taunted. "No monologue?"

"I think the name is irrelevant. As for my monologue, I already said it to the Ladyblog. Of course, I neglected to mention what happens after I get your miraculous stones."

"Enlighten us." Came a third voice. Volpina jumped off of a nearby building and landed in front of them, a confident smirk on her face.

"Foxy!" Chat grinned.

"Foxy?" Volpina asked. Chat shrugged.

"I don't know. Volpina reminds me of Lila." Volpina shuddered.

"Still. I think Volpina is better than Foxy."

" _Excuse me."_ The akuma said dangerously.

"Oh right!" Chat exclaimed, mock slapping his forehead. "Almost forgot! Do enlighten us."

"I'm going to enjoy tearing you apart." the akuma growled, and launched herself at the three. Despite their numerical and advantage, the three heroes quickly found themselves on the defensive. Numbers were one thing, but it was a whole other ball game when all the akuma needed was to get one touch to you. And what Chat was quickly being forcefully reminded of as the fight went on was his concussion. Despite his taunting bravado before the fight, he had been acting tough, trying to ignore the constant pain. The longer the fight went on the worse his headache became, and as a result, the worse his fighting became.

 _I'm being sloppy._ He thought as he waved wildly with his right hand, and narrowly avoided getting touched. As he retreated his foot slipped out from under him and he fell flat on his back. The akuma shouted in victory, leaping towards him, certain of her victory. Which was right when he felt LB's yoyo wrap around his ankle and yank him through the akuma, sending her toppling to the ground. Volpina pounced, holding what looked like oven mitts. _She used her lucky charm._ He realized dimly. He stayed down as he realized he would be of no use the rest of the fight.

He wasn't sure quite how long he was lying down, but what he did know was that they won. He saw the swarm of ladybugs shoot out from where he assumed they'd been fighting and dimly heard shouts. Soon after he heard a voice talking to him.

"Chaton? Chaton are you okay? What happened?"

"Why isn't he better? Miraculous Ladybug should have-"

"I don't know Fox." Ladybug said, hysteria creeping into her voice.

"Come on Chat we gotta move." Volpina hissed, grabbing him underneath his shoulder. Adrien felt his head loll to the side but couldn't really do anything to correct it. He felt another hand grab his other arm, and suddenly they were moving quickly, away from the restaurant. They gently set him down and Volpina sighed as she forced one of Chat's eyes open, before peering in. "His eyes are fine. It's probably a concussion. And not a mild one." She muttered.

"But he never got hit!" Ladybug said desperately.

"Then it must have happened before the fight. Look. I hate to do this, but I'm about to lose my transformation, and so are you. Does he know? He knows mine I can stay if you want to keep it secret."

"He knows." Ladybug whispered. "You can go." Volpina nodded and turned, looking back at Chat uncertainly before taking off.

"LB?" Chat croaked.

"Chaton!" Mari whispered, relief washing through her.

"What happened?" He queried, his voice slurring a bit.

"I was hoping you could tell me." Mari said, stroking his hair. "Did this really happen before the fight happened?" She felt Chat tense. _What are you hiding mon minou?_ She thought desperately, staring into his eyes. Chat sighed.

"It's nothing. I'll be fine." Mari felt a surge of anger go through her.

"Chaton no. We both know you're not fine. Why won't you tell me the truth? Do you not trust me?" Chat tried to protest but Mari was on a roll. "And this isn't the first time this has happened! You've always hidden your injuries from me, trying to keep up your stupid little facade, and shutting me out! And I don't believe that you got this head injury from an accident so don't even bother trying to spout that bullshit. I love you damn it and I won't let you keep getting injured without at least trying to take care of you just like you've always done for me. So please Chat. Let me help." Chat stared at her for a few seconds, at a complete loss for words. Then he did the one thing that made sense to him in this situation. He kissed her. If somebody had been walking past the alley in that moment they would have seen a flash of pink, followed by a flash of green. Fortunately, nobody was anywhere nearby, and just as well, because Adrien and Marinette were completely oblivious to the outside world.

The kiss ended much faster than either would have liked, but both were now becoming acutely aware of their situation. Marinette acted first.

"Come on kitty." Mari murmured, helping him to his feet slowly. "Let's get you home." Seeing his despondent look, she quickly explained. "My home." she frowned as she saw his entire body relax. It wasn't his general hatred towards the house this time. _What are you afraid of Adrien?_ She almost voiced the question out loud but held back. Now wasn't the time. They were in a bit of a fix. They had only reserved the limo for one way because they had planned to walk back. But now she had to deal with an Adrien who could barely walk straight.

However, before they had even taken a step outside of the alley, a limo pulled up and stopped. Marinette braced herself for another fight. (Years of fighting evil villains had made her paranoid.) But instead of a villain, out stepped Natalie.

"Natalie?" Adrien asked, shocked.

"Adrien!" she shouted, running over. "What happened?" She asked desperately. Mari opened her mouth, but Adrien beat her too it.

"Same as usual." Mari jolted in surprise as Natalie's face changed from one of worry to one of disgust.

"Say no more." She growled. "Come on. Let's go." The Gorilla climbed out of the limo and picked up Adrien with minimal effort.

"I can walk." Adrien protested. The Gorilla scoffed, and placed him in the back. Mari lingered off behind them awkwardly, unsure if she would be welcome to join them.

"You too Ms. Dupain-Cheng." Natalie said gesturing to the limo. Mari hesitated still. "Mr. Agreste left on a business trip tonight." Natalie wasn't sure if Marinette's feet touched the ground as she got in the limo. She allowed a small smile to creep onto her face, before entering the limousine, and signaled The Gorilla to start driving. On the other side of Paris, a certain villain was chuckling to himself. He now knew who Chat Noir was. But he would wait. He had plenty of time. Chat would be leaving soon anyways.

 _Of course, if he returns to Paris of his own volition... I will simply take matters into my own hands._ Hawkmoth thought, a victorious grin on his face. Nooroo, exhausted from the effort of creating two akumas, was fighting the blackness that was threatening to overtake him. He remained conscious just long enough to hear Hawkmoth shoot a comment at him.

"Well done Nooroo. I must say I'm impressed. I appreciate your assistance. But get used to this. There will only be more to do from here on out." Nooroo let out a small whimper and drifted off, the sound of Hawkmoth's laughter ringing in his ears.

* * *

I'm baaaaaack wheeeee. Hooray! Yay! I'm so glad my writer's block is (mostly) gone! Yay! Anyways, I know this chapter was short comparatively, but I'm sure you'll find it in yourself to forgive me. Now just so you guys know, yes Adrien is leaving soon. Like really soon. Like probably next chapter if I had to guess.

Now while college has been going well, I'm also hella tired all the time. So again, no guarantees of when the frick frack I'll be able to post again. but either way, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I will see you all next time.

As always, please review, fav, follow, etc. Kisses!

Until Next Time!

~Nebilas~


	11. Chapter 11

_A/N: Warning: There is sex in this chapter. It's not 'explicit' per se. I wrote a version of it like that but I felt like it detracted from the meaning behind it. Sigh, I'm being smothered by the situation these two are finding themselves in (and it's of my own creation.) Why do I do this to myself? I hope you like it._

* * *

The limo ride was a quiet one. The gorilla was as silent as ever, Natalie was furious, (Mari still wasn't sure as to why), and Adrien seemed to be completely out of it, his head on Marinette's lap. Mari couldn't shake the nasty feeling in the pit of her stomach. She was missing something. The something that explained all of Adrien's injuries and perhaps a great many other things. But she couldn't figure out quite what that was, and it was driving her crazy.

"Ms. Cheng." Natalie said after a few moments.

"Yes ma'am?" Mari asked, jolted out of her thoughts. Natalie glanced back with a soft smile.

"Please call me Natalie dear." Mari nodded and Natalie turned back to the front. "How much has Adrien told you about his… Home life?"

"I know that Gabe is blackmailing him if that's what you mean." Mari replied, not bothering to hide the fury creeping into her voice.

"Ah.. Well yes, but I mean anything besides that?" Mari sighed.

"I know that there is, but I don't know what exactly. He won't tell me thanks to his stupid self-righteous protect others before myself mantra." Natalie sighed.

"That figures." She grumbled, glancing back at Adrien fondly. "Are you aware of his… Extra-curricular activities?"

"The sanctioned ones or the ones he does at night?" Mari asked. Natalie grinned at Mari.

"Oh I can see why he likes you." With the compliment, Mari felt her heart drop a bit in her chest. _He's leaving._ "Yes. The ones at night."

"How do you know?" Mari asked, refocusing. Natalie scoffed.

"I'm his assistant. I know almost everything. Give me some credit. Magic barriers or not I'm going to notice if he's not in his room when I come wake him up. His room is rancid from that terrible cheese, which I know for a fact he doesn't actually eat. Also unless his shadow has a voice and is named 'Plagg', I doubt he's talking to himself at the late hours of the night." Marinette chuckled and nodded in affirmation. The ride continued in silence until the question that Mari had been holding on to finally broke free.

"Why do you stay with Mr. Agreste?" Mari finally asked. Natalie sighed and glanced back.

"For Adrien dear. He doesn't have anybody else that cares about him. Well.. Nobody that can make an actual physical difference at least. But I get the feeling you already knew that?" Mari nodded. Natalie smiled fondly at the boy in Mari's lap. "He called me 'Mom' once. After his mother passed and I was taking care of him while he was sick. It was a complete accident, he was completely out of it. I don't even know if he remembers." Natalie glanced at Mari before turning back to the front. "I don't have children of my own.. But I do like to think of Adrien as a son of sorts."

"Natalie." Mari whispered. "You, of all people, deserve to have that title for him."

"Thank you." Natalie murmured. The Gorilla handed Natalie a tissue, and she accepted it gratefully.

"You never talk." Mari blurted. The Gorilla jolted, slightly surprised at being addressed in this manner. He glanced back at her through the rearview mirror, a flicker of amusement crossing his face.

"No he doesn't." Natalie replied, chuckling. "Something about emotions and words distracting from his job." The gorilla grunted, though Mari couldn't help but notice the small smile that crept onto his face as he did it. Adrien shifted in her lap and she glanced down to find him staring up at her.

"Princess?" He murmured. Her heart again made its presence felt, dipping into her stomach.

"H-hey kitty. How are you feeling?" She winced at the stutter.

"Like someone used my head as an anvil." He muttered, rubbing it.

"Close enough." Natalie grumbled.

"Mm." Adrien hummed noncommittally.

The rest of the car ride passed in a surprisingly comfortable silence. Adrien was quietly purring in Mari's lap as she stroked his hair, smiling at him. Natalie occasionally would glance back, often smiling at the two before pulling out her phone and sending off various texts. The Gorilla remained silent as per usual.

It took fifteen minutes for them to complete their journey and they pulled up in front of Agreste Manor. Natalie and The Gorilla exited the limo first, prepared to help Adrien, who was so out of it, he wasn't even protesting. He leaned against Mari and Natalie, while The Gorilla hovered in the back, ready to catch him if necessary. Incredibly, they made it to the house without a hitch, allowing the Gorilla to return to the limo and park it.

"Adrien we need to get you some pain killers." Natalie said as they entered the living room. They led him over to the couch and sat him down on it. He rubbed his head.

"That sounds miraculous." Adrien replied. After a few seconds, he started giggling. "Puns." He whispered, still giggling. Natalie shot a glance at Mari and both women rolled their eyes. Natalie walked off briskly into the house, in search of the pain killers she'd promised. Mari sighed and crouched in front of him, brushing a stray lock away from his face.

"You'll be okay kitty." She murmured. She stood and glanced around the room, taking in the details again. The large picture of him and his father. The excessively large chandelier. But she could also feel the sheer emptiness of the entire building. She frowned. She was starting to understand how Adrien could feel suffocated in this environment. Natalie returned with a glass of water and two pills.

"Here you go Adrien." She said, handing them to him. He sighed and took the pills, popping them in his mouth. He quickly drained the water in his glass and leaned back into the cushions.

"No you don't." Natalie said, quickly interceding and forcing him to sit up, much to Adrien's displeasure. "We need to get you to bed."

"That's far." He whined, but Mari could see the playful smile on his face. She smiled too, helping him stand.

"Yes it is, but it's happening anyway." Adrien just made a noise as the two led him up the stairs. The walk took longer than expected, as Adrien was quickly finding it more difficult to keep himself awake.

"What did you give him?" Mari asked irritably, staggering as Adrien lost his balance again.

"Trazodone and an Aleve." Natalie gasped, straining from the exertion of keeping the blonde upright.

"Well it's working." Mari hissed, forcing his left arm over her shoulders. Natalie did the same with his right arm.

"I don't remember him being this tall." Natalie grumbled as they resumed their trek. Marinette just giggled.

The two finally got to his door, which (thankfully) was ajar. They pushed themselves through it and led Adrien to his bed. Natalie's phone started buzzing and she sighed as she answered.

"Yeah?" A pause. "No it's the Queen of England, of course it's me what do you want?" A look of disgust flashed across her face. "Seriously? Now? This can't wait until mor-" Another look that Mari couldn't decipher flashed across her face. "Mr. Agreste, hello." Mari stiffened, and Adrien's head snapped up. They both stared at her anxiously. "I got him, he's fine. He's asleep now." A pause. "I understand. I'll get it done. I-" A look of fury crossed her face, but her tone remained the same. "He definitely got the message sir. There is no doubt at all." She sighed as he continued. "Tomorrow at ten." A pause. "Goodnight Mr. Agreste." She hung up and took a deep breath, before looking at the two teens. "I need to go. Can I trust you to take care of him? Of course I can." She said before Mari was even able to answer. She walked towards the door, shooting off a text. As she got there she stopped and glanced back. "Thank you Marinette." And with that she was gone. Mari sighed and turned back to Adrien.

"Alright kitty let's get you undre-" Adrien was already shirtless. Mari screamed internally. She was not ready for this.

"Like what you see princess?" He asked, sending her a wink. _Oh gods yes_ _._ She shook her head to clear that thought and Adrien looked put out.

"No- Yes! I mean- Yes! But no to the shaking my head. Sorry." Adrien stared at her for a few moments.

"Are you okay Mari?" He asked gently. "I didn't mean to scare you." Mari felt her heart start to beat faster. _Screwed._ She thought to herself. _I am so completely and utterly screwed._

"No it wasn't your fault." She said, reassuring him. He nodded, but she could tell he wasn't convinced. "I just wasn't prepared for it is all." She explained. He nodded again, and Mari felt her heart sink. "Adrien look at me." He did so. "It wasn't your fault. I was genuinely just not ready for it. I'd expected time to adjust and suddenly there you are, gorgeous, ripped and…" Her eyes went wide. _Covered in scars._

"Thank you princess." He whispered, completely missing her utter horror. He sighed and laid back down. "I'm about to take my pants off, fair warning." Mari snapped out of her shock and turned around. He chuckled, but she didn't hear it, completely lost in her own thoughts.

 _So many scars. Why did he never say anything? Why didn't my healing spell work on him?_ She began to feel so incredibly guilty. She bore at most three scars from her time as Ladybug, and they were minor. Miraculous Ladybug healed almost all of them. _But why not his?_ She wondered, still dazed.

"Marinette?" Adrien called. She turned back around slowly, and found him in pajama pants, and still no shirt. "Can you get the light?"

"Right." She said, forcing a smile on her face. Before she flicked the switch, she checked her clutch for her phone and the two kwamis currently sleeping in it. She smiled and carefully removed it, seeing no less than ten texts from Alya and several missed calls. _Whoops._ She thought, wincing.

"You forgot to call Alya didn't you?" Adrien asked.

"Maybe." She replied, quickly texting her parents and Alya that she was okay.

"She's going to kill you." he said, chuckling.

"Yeah laugh it up." She grumbled. She turned her phone on silent, now guilt free of Alya and her parents wrath (at least most of it) and flicked off the light. For a moment, she debated going into bed with Adrien, but ended up decided against it. She slowly wandered back to the love seat that Adrien happened to have in his room _because of course he does._ She thought, a smile on her face. She plopped into it and sighed.

"What are you doing?" He asked after a few moments. Mari jolted.

"Sleeping in the loveseat?" She said uncertainly.

"Oh." He said simply. Was it Mari's imagination, or did he sound… Disappointed? The room fell silent, save for breathing. After a few moments he broke the silence again.

"Princess?" He asked softly. She sat up straight in her chair.

"I'm here." There was a brief pause.

"Join me?" Mari felt the heat rise in her face. She debated with herself for a few moments, and apparently Adrien thought he had offended her somehow.

"You don't have to obviously. I just thought maybe you might- I mean not sexual of course, if you don't want, and it's probably a bad idea anyways, with my head injury, not to mention the whole I'm leaving thing, that makes it even worse and I was just thinking-"

"Adrien." She whispered. Adrien jumped. She'd somehow managed to cross the room to his bed without him noticing. "I would love to. And I hope you don't mind, but I also stole a shirt and sweatpants. I think Natalie left them for me." Adrien released a breath he didn't know he'd been holding.

"I definitely don't mind." He said, as she crawled into bed next to him.

"Mmm. Good." She replied as she slid under the covers. At first they stayed apart, and only stared at each other. Neither one really seemed to be able to look away, though Mari seemed to keep glancing down at his chest.

"Mari?" He finally asked. "Is something wrong?"

"Scars." She blurted. Adrien stared at her for a moment, and she felt a sudden jolt in her chest as he suddenly looked ashamed, seeming to curl in on himself.

"I… Um yeah. I guess being a hero has its cost." He muttered awkwardly. "I know they're ugly, but there are too many to even try to cover so I just-" He was cut off by Mari slamming her lips against his. After a few seconds of shock, he kissed her back, and the two lost themselves to the kiss for a few minutes.

For them, the kiss was pure bliss. A place where just for a few moments, everything was alright in the world. One where Adrien wasn't leaving for America in less than twelve hours. A world where Hawkmoth was out of the way, and not a threat.

When the kiss broke off, both teenagers were terrified. All of the pep talks they'd given themselves about not letting this happen had been for nothing. Both were fully exposed and both were painfully aware of it. Reality was crashing down around both of their heads.

 _I can't do this to him. I can't ask him to wait._

 _I can't ask her to do this for me._

Both teenagers hearts sank in their chests, in an almost painful way. Silence reigned for a few minutes, as both teens started to realize just how much they were truly in love with the other. They'd always known they were in love, but the fresh exposure to each other's reciprocation of those feelings were driving their own to new heights.

"Adrien.." Mari finally said, breaking the silence. "Those scars aren't ugly. They're beautiful. They just make me love you more, for always protecting me. Thank you." Adrien swallowed nervously.

"I love you too princess." He whispered. Mari pressed her lips to his again, keeping this one short. They began to stare at each other again, just as they had before. Adrien took her hand in his and she smiled weakly. His green pierced into her blue, and her blue gazed right back into him.

"Your pupils are dilated." She murmured.

"Your pulse is faster than normal." He whispered back. She swallowed nervously and moved closer to him.

"Always around you." She confessed.

"I can relate." He chuckled. She put a hand on his cheek and heard his breathing become more shallow.

"This is a bad idea isn't it?" She asked softly, moving closer.

"One of the worst we've ever had." Adrien agreed, in the same tone.

"You're leaving tomorrow."

"I am. And I don't know when I'll return." He said sadly.

"We should probably stop then." She whispered.

"Almost certainly." He murmured.

"We could pretend." She whispered desperately.

"Pretend?" He asked, voice catching.

"Just for tonight. That we're together. That nothing will be in our way tomorrow." Adrien didn't speak, but his eyes told it all. Pain swam within them, but also a tiny amount of hope. He nodded, almost imperceptibly, and hating himself for doing it. "I love you." she breathed, before capturing his lips with hers once more.

This kiss was different from the one they'd shared a few moments ago. This one was more intimate. The last one had been about comfort and love. This was want and lust. It was new for both of them, but there was also complete trust between the two, which was why when Adrien suddenly broke it off, Mari felt a strange sense of abandonment. It lasted for maybe two seconds as Adrien began kissing her neck. She gasped and let out a soft moan, letting the sensation wash over her. She fought for control over her wants. Neither were quite lost to passion yet.

That changed the instant Adrien pulled gently on her earlobe with his teeth. What it was about this that sent Mari over the edge of rational thought was a mystery to even her, but from that point, she was left with no doubt over what she wanted this night to yield. She quickly reversed field, flipping him onto his back, pinning his arms over his head as she did it.

For a moment, she was tempted to speak, to tease him. After all, the look on his face was comedy gold. But she knew it would only take away from this. This one night. So instead she just leaned down and kissed him again. She quickly moved down and kissed his neck, making him gasp and squirm. He tried to move his arms but she kept them above his head. She moved back to his lips and released his arms, and he immediately wrapped them around her, pulling her closer. Suddenly he stopped her. She looked at him uncertainly. _Has he changed his mind?_ She wondered nervously.

"I love you too." He murmured, reaching up to caress her cheek.

From that point, it wasn't lust anymore. It was love. They progressed slowly, lovingly, until both felt the other was ready. There were no words exchanged the rest of that night. Every motion was only approved with a nod and the noises of pleasure that followed. And as perfect as the night was, there were a few things that didn't happen. There as never a surge of erotic pleasure that night. No screaming orgasm from wild sex. But what _had_ happened was far more important to them.

They had made love. Had they rushed things? Absolutely. Was it the smartest thing they'd ever done? Definitely not. And yet, in its own, flawed imperfect way, it _had_ been perfect. And as they lay sleeping in each other's arms, both found their own sanctuary. Adrien, for the first time in years, slept soundly, the woman he loved in his grasp. As for Marinette, she slept better than she had in months, a small smile on her face. They loved each other, and for once, just for the night, fate turned a blind eye to everything that could have gone wrong. The two remained undisturbed.

* * *

 _A/N: *Drowns in Adrinette* Gods I hope you guys liked this I've never written anything like this before. I'm going to over analyze this right now please don't hate me._

 _As I wrote this chapter, I almost completely cut out the sex scene. I felt like it was too fast, too forced, that readers would interpret it as me just wanting to throw in a lemon. So I wrote two versions. I wrote the one you just read, and one where there was no sex. I fought between the two for forever. I wrote at least three different versions of the one without, because I felt like it was missing something. That something was quite frankly the m-rated scene. Even before I posted this, I had four different people read between the two and tell me what they thought. The unanimous decision was that I should include the scene. They felt that the scene, and the "pretending" as Marinette called it, was what made the scene complete. Because they do love each other, and they know they want to be together for the rest of their lives, but there's a cold harsh reality less than 12 hours away. Neither wants to face it, and when Mari suggests they pretend, Adrien was never going to say no. It's selfish, it's stupid, and yet I feel like they both needed it so badly. For just once, Adrien can show how much he loves her, defying his father while he does it. As for Marinette, she's desperately searching for a way to avoid the creeping feeling in her chest. The feeling that Adrien will be leaving. So she proposes it, and when he says yes, she finds her own sanctuary in his arms._

 _Sorry about that. I needed to get that out 3_

 _Please give me your opinions. I value them immensely. Like actually I do. I read every comment. So let me know. I love you all._

 _Until Next Time!_

 _~Nebilas~_


	12. Chapter 12

_A/N: My god it's been awhile hasn't it? How is everyone? I'm almost done with my first semester of college! yay! I've had no drive to write this, even though it was practically finished like a month ago. Whoops. Ah well. I hope you enjoy. I'm not sure when the next chapter will be out, I'm not even sure what it will be about tbh. But I WILL get out one more chapter before the new year. I promise. So for those of you who read these author's notes, you'll have that to look forward to. I await your reviews with anticipation! And i wouldn't mind some input on where this story should go. Thank you all!_

 _Until Next Time!_

 _~Nebilas~_

 _P.S. I relate to the airport scene too much. That's what happens when you're in love with someone who lives a thousand miles away._

* * *

 **Chapter 12**

 _Knock knock knock_

Marinette stirred slightly and reached over to grab her pillow, mumbling something incoherent to all but herself. As she grabbed her pillow, said pillow reached over and cuddled her back. Marinette's eyes flew wide open to show her a still asleep Adrien, though with another knock, he too began to stir. She stared at him cautiously as memories of the previous night flooded back through her. Nightmare scenarios began to flood through her mind. What if he panicked? What if he didn't remember? _What if her breath smelled bad?_ Adrien's eyes opened slowly, and Mari held her breath in dread.

"Hey beautiful." he mumbled.

Mari let out a sigh of relief, and moved her hand so she could play with his hair.

"Hey handsome."

"What time is it?" he asked, yawning. Mari glanced over at the clock that was next to the bed.

"Six-thirty. How's your head?"

"Better." He replied, starting to sit up. "I'll live." He slid the sheets off of him, clad only in boxers, and Mari again couldn't help but ogle him. "You're staring again." He said playfully.

"Well yeah." She replied, grinning back. There was a pause, and Mari opened her mouth to speak when another knock snapped the two from their flirting. Natalie poked her head in.

"Breakfast will be ready in thirty minutes." She turned to Marinette. "Will you be accompanying us to the airport?" Mari felt the remaining illusion Adrien and herself had been living drain out of the room. Going by the look on Adrien's face, he had just felt the same thing.

"Yes please." Marinette replied. Natalie nodded and left. Mari sighed and moved out of the bed as well, moving over to her clothes, briefly forgetting she was wearing underwear and nothing else. She was reminded of this very quickly when she heard Adrien make an odd noise from the other end of the room and took in his suddenly beet red face. Mari also flushed and quickly threw on her clothes, trying her best not to look at him. She headed towards the bathroom, but Adrien stopped her before she could enter.

"Marinette." He called. She halted and turned, catching one final look at his scars before he tugged his jet black shirt over his chest.

"Yes Adrien?" She asked, chest tightening. For a moment Adrien looked conflicted. He wanted to tell her something, clearly. But just as soon as that was on his face, it was gone. He smiled and shook his head.

"Nothing. It can wait." Mari nodded, even though she didn't believe him, and smiled back. She went into the bathroom and closed the door behind her.

 _Coward._ Adrien thought to himself bitterly. He'd wanted to ask if she was okay. If she was okay with everything that had happened. He was angry at himself. He didn't regret what had happened. He could never do that. But he wasn't exactly thrilled that it had happened either. Everything he had done to prepare himself against her had been for nothing.

His pep talks to himself had been futile. Months of denial had only seemed to make things worse. Hell even a concussion had failed to stop him. He sighed and began to make his bed, before realizing there was literally no point in doing it. He did it anyways. He flopped onto it, letting out yet another 'woe is me' sigh, before Mari walked out of the bathroom, her hair up in a ponytail. Adrien stared helplessly. _Am I just forever doomed to have no common sense around her?_ He wondered.

"You're up." Mari said, adjusting her shirt, before frowning.

"What's wrong?" Adrien asked.

"Natalie lent me a shirt and-"

"Hold up hold up." Adrien said, trying not to laugh. It was a bright green t-shirt, something that Adrien never even considered that Natalie would wear. "That's _Natalie's?"_

"As far as I'm aware." Mari replied, her lips quirking upward. She laughed at the expression on his face. "Silly kitty." She said, stroking his cheek. Adrien turned beet red and Mari seemed to realize what she had done and quickly retracted her hand. Adrien stood and headed towards the bathroom, closing the door behind him without another word. He sighed and leaned back against the door.

Why had that had such a strong affect on him? They flirted all the time. Physical contact was a normalcy, especially things like that when he was Chat. Why could he not be the same when he was Adrien? He reopened the door and Mari almost fell onto him as she had been about to knock.

"I'm sorry." They both blurted.

"I'm sorry I ran just now." Adrien said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable." Mari said, rubbing her arm awkwardly.

"No it wasn't you. I just…" He sighed and looked away. "I'm not the same when I'm Adrien. I'm not as much of a flirt. It's not like I subdue it. It's only consistent when I'm Chat. It's not something I can turn on or off without the ring. It comes and goes randomly." Marinette suddenly understood why he had bolted.

"So.. You bolted because you're so used to not being yourself when you're.. Yourself." Adrien nodded before chuckling.

"Sounds kinda crazy when it's said out loud. I'm more me when I'm Chat Noir than when I'm Adrien." He stopped chuckling when he noticed Mari wasn't smiling. "Mari? What's wrong." Mari jolted and stared at him, looking almost guilty before forcing a smile on her face.

"Nothing. It's fine." Adrien opened his mouth to press, but she beat him to it. "Don't you need to shower?" She asked pointedly. Adrien sighed and nodded. Before he closed the door, he hesitated, and stared at the young woman who was now sitting on his bed. He was tempted to speak, but eventually chose against it, shutting the door.

Marinette lay down on the bed, shutting her eyes and just breathing, trying to decide what the hell to do. Should she bring it up? Should she let it sit? It wasn't.. Awkward necessarily, but it was certainly the elephant in the room. Mari snorted. _More like 50 elephants having a parade throughout the house._ Despite trying to come up with a solution to her questions, she had no answers, and even if she had come to a decision, she had no way of knowing if it was the correct one.

She wanted to bring it up, but she also was aware of the pain that could be caused by a long distance relationship. She loved him enough to wait, but she also loved him enough to not force him to go through the same pain she would be going through. _I just won't bring it up. I can pretend for the next few hours. If he brings it up I'll be honest._ Little did she know, Adrien had just reached the exact same decision in the shower.

XxXxXxXxXx

Eventually Adrien returned, looking just as confused and conflicted as she felt. The two didn't speak, afraid of what would come out of their mouths if they dared to open them. Mari tried to ignore how much like Chat he looked, with his hair completely messed up, while Adrien tried to ignore just how adorable she was. The two silently left the room and headed down through the halls of Agreste Manor, arriving in the dining room after a few minutes..

Their food was already prepared for them, sitting on the table, and the two plopped next to each other. Adrien snorted as he sat.

"What's so funny?" Marinette asked, confused.

"Natalie gave us carbs." At Mari's confused expression, he elaborated. "She only does that if I have a long day or I'm miserable.

"Minou have you ever had a meal without considering the dietary restrictions?" Mari asked.

"Not many." Adrien shrugged. "And they're usually unsanctioned. But it's gotten better recently. I was wasting away and I told my father I had started to work out and the food wasn't enough. He wasn't happy at first but then his public relations guy informed him that it would probably boost my popularity. So now it's just protein and whey." Mari smirked.

"Plus the cookies you steal from my house."

"Hey you offered!" Adrien said, defending himself. "I'm not going to be a bad guest and decline." Mari grinned and smacked his arm lightly.

"You know I'm just teasing kitty." Adrien grumbled under his breath but she saw him smile. It was at this point that Natalie walked in, fiddling with her clipboard. She noticed the two and greeted them cordially.

"Good morning you two. I hope you slept well."

"We did." Adrien confirmed.

"I'm glad to hear it." Natalie said, before opening her bag and ruffling through it. She frowned before nodding to herself. "Adrien our flight is at ten so we need to leave for the airport pretty quickly."

Mari felt her heart drop, and going by the look on Adrien's face, he felt the same. She instinctively reached to grab his hand but stopped herself. _Not yours._ She chided herself.

The rest of breakfast passed in an uncomfortable silence. Time seemed to blur and all too soon they were in the limo, everything packed and ready to go.

The sense of gloom that had descended on the two teenagers the previous night was returning in full force, and there was nothing they could do to stop it. Silence was maintained throughout the terminal, and Mari was readying herself for goodbye as they got out of the limo. But even this was stalled as Natalie grabbed her and steered her into the airport.

"I got you a visitor pass so you can come to the gate."

"Perks of being an Agreste." Adrien muttered, and Mari felt her heart break just a little. He really hated all of the fame, and it was showing more and more with each passing second. They hopped in the security line and waited, hardly talking until they were through. Even then, they only talked about trivial things, both avidly avoiding the topic of America, until Adrien brought it up himself nearly an hour later.

"So Natalie what's the plan exactly?" Adrien finally asked. "Where's our final stop?"

"Portland."

"Why Portland? Seems random." Marinette queried.

"Hipster culture." Adrien grumbled. "Apparently that's the new _thing._ It rains all the time Mari how will I cope?" he bemoaned.

"Well at least we know I'll be darker than you for once." Natalie hid her smirk and left to go say goodbye to Craig. (He obviously has a name besides Gorilla guys, cut me some slack, Natalie would obviously know it.)

Adrien let out a bark of laughter. It was harsh and unnatural. He threw up his model smile, unaware that Mari could see straight through it.

"Stop that." Mari chided.

"Stop what?" Adrien asked, his smile fading.

"Your model smile."

"My what?" Adrien asked, confused.

"Your fake, stupid, everything is fine even though it really isn't slash I don't really want to smile but I'm doing it anyway smile. Your model smile." She took on a thoughtful expression. "You should trademark that." Adrien laughed. A real one this time.

"Alright. Sorry." He smirked.

"Promise me something?" Mari asked. Adrien nodded without hesitation.

"Never try to be something you're not with me. I fell in love with you for you, not who your dad expects you to be. Okay?" Adrien felt his throat constrict, and in the end he could only nod. Mari gave him a smile. "Good."

" _Jet Airways 9W4906 service to Los Angeles International Airport is now boarding first class."_ the woman at the gate announced.

"That's us Adrien." Natalie said softly. Adrien didn't move. He stared into Marinette's eyes, and she stared back, wishing things were different. That somehow she could drag him away from the gate, and that somehow, _somehow,_ everything would be okay. She pulled him into her arms, and they molded into each other, desperate not to let go.

"I love you." he whispered.

"I love you too." She forced out, trying, and failing, to keep her tears at bay. Why couldn't she add the other part? Why couldn't she ask if he would wait for her? They held each other for a few more moments, trying to deceive themselves even now. Adrien was the one to let go, forcing his hands apart. He hesitated for a moment, then kissed her softly. She revelled in it, thriving in the last time she would kiss him for… _Let's not think about that please._ She pleaded with herself. The kiss ended and he rubbed her cheek with his thumb.

"I'll be back." He murmured.

"You'd better." Mari replied, somehow giggling slightly. And with that, Adrien let his hand fall and he moved away. She watched him show his passport and ticket, getting the confirming nod from the woman. As he walked past her he glanced back once, smiling sadly, before turning down the ramp and disappearing from view.

Marinette didn't speak at all the rest of that day. It wasn't as the though the gorilla was talkative on the drive back, and once she got home, she secluded herself in her room. Tikki's attempts to break through to her were unsuccessful. When her parents came up she pretended to be asleep. Once she did fall asleep Tikki sighed and communicated with Plagg.

 _Have you arrived?_

 _Yeah. We're okay. How's your girl?_

 _Asleep. Devastated. How is Adrien?_

 _About the same. He's not asleep yet but he will be soon I hope. He's getting his phone all ready tomorrow so that he can actually call her._

 _Thank heavens for that._

… _How are you doing?_

 _I've been better. You?_

 _I'm worried about him Tikki._

 _You won't lose this one Plagg. Trust me._

 _I know, I know… I'll talk to you later okay? We need to sleep._

 _Goodnight Plagg. I miss you already._

 _Ugh. Emotions._ Tikki snorted and almost cut off the connection but he kept going. _I miss you too Tikki. Hope to see you soon._ And with that, the connection was cut.

 _Silly kitty._ Tikki thought, before curling up next to her chosens head, and joining her in sleep.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

Adrien was no stranger to loneliness. He woke up to it most days, most nights, isolated from the outside world. But as he sat on his new bed in his new room, he felt well and truly alone. Especially so soon after having spent a night with Marinette. He sighed and picked up his phone, before remembering he didn't have service yet, and put it back down. The nine hour time difference wouldn't be easy.

A knock on his door finally propelled him out of bed, and he opened it. Natalie stood in the doorway, looking slightly miffed. Adrien cocked an eyebrow, the unspoken question of _are you okay_ floating in the air. She shook her head dismissively before letting out a sigh.

"Your photoshoot is in an hour. Following that, we have to go to the DMV to get you sorted out for a driver's license. Apparently, your father thinks it'll be good for your _image_ to have you driving yourself around. After that, we can go to a cell phone store and get that all situated. That should be all for today, but you have a very important dinner slash gala to attend this week. That's on Friday though, so you have a few days. Also starting in the fall you'll be taking classes at a local college. Your father wants you to take Chinese of course, as well as an acting class. Not sure what that's about, but you know how that goes. Also speaking of, there's a fencing team nearby if you wanted to look into that as well. Also there's a parkour place while we're on the subject, to keep you used to the leaping and what not. Oh and by the way your father will be visiting in about a month. No specific dates on that but I will let you know so it won't blindside you."

This full stretch of dialogue came out in a blur, but Adrien was so used to it at this point that he filed it away in his head, memorizing it perfectly. He turned around to return into his room.

"Thank you Natalie, I'm going to get-" A certain tidbit of what she'd said suddenly latching onto him. He slowly turned back around, staring at her wide-eyed.

"I slipped didn't I?" She asked nonchalantly.

"You _know?_ " Adrien asked, incredulous.

"Do I know?" Natalie scoffed. "Of course I know. I've known for two years. I'm not blind. Also that stupid Camembert which I know for a fact you don't eat yourself so-" Natalie was cut off by a fierce hug from the teenager.

"Thank you." Adrien whispered.

"For what?" Natalie asked, bewildered.

"Everything Natalie. Everything." Adrien murmured. "You're my mom in all but name. So thank you."

"Of course Adrien." Natalie responded softly.

"Kid you're terrible at the secret identity thing." Plagg commented, floating out of the room.

"Actually it was your fault." Natalie fired back, a smirk on her face. Plagg looked scandalized.

"Was not!" he eloquently argued.

"You floated in front of me to get yourself food at three in the morning." Natalie said, taking her phone out of her pocket. "Go get camembert there's some in the kitchen." Plagg huffed and stalked (well, float-stalked) away from the two.

"I'll.. I'll just go get ready." Adrien finally said, snapping out of his stupor.

"Meet you by the car." Natalie said, scowling as a text notification came through, before whipping out her phone and walking away. Adrien sighed, scratching the back of his neck before retreating into his room. Ten minutes later, he found himself in a car, with Natalie at the wheel. Despite her assurances that, "Yes Adrien, I know how to drive." Adrien found himself wincing no less than five times during their brief fifteen minute drive.

"Okay but the last one was _not_ my fault." Natalie protested as she pulled into a parking spot.

"Point conceded. But the previous three…" Adrien countered.

"It's not my fault they were in my blind spot!" She muttered.

"Uh huh." Adrien said, a grin on his face. Despite the subject, the conversation was very light hearted, which was something he really needed. Unfortunately, the smile disappeared almost the instant he walked in the doors of the studio. "Ah yes." He muttered. "People." A passing photographer heard him and snorted. Adrien flushed slightly, tempted to apologize but the photographer moved on. Adrien watched his progress as he made his way through the studio until he found a corner, and sat down, going over the pictures in his camera roll. He popped in headphones and began bobbing his head to an unheard beat, occasionally mouthing the words. Adrien shook himself out of it and glanced around, wondering where he was supposed to go.

Fortunately, somebody noticed him and took pity, politely asking his name and why he was there. When he replied, the man's eyes widened and he quickly ushered him through the studio to a larger studio in the back.

"Mr. Agreste welcome." The man said, a broad smile on his face. "Are you ready to begin?"

XxXxXxXxXx

"Are you ready?" The photographer asked in a slow voice and gesturing. Adrien glowered at him.

"I am fluent in english sir."

"Oh excellent." the man said, immediately speaking normally. Adrien sighed and assumed the pose he had been told to. Adrien was quickly remembering why he hated modelling. He always conveniently forgot every single time he left a set. He sighed, wishing he could be literally anywhere else. (Specifically in the arms of Marinette Dupain-Cheng in this case, but that was neither here nor there.) The shoot dragged on and on, it seemed, and all he wanted was to talk to someone. _Anyone,_ that wasn't a photographer or makeup artist. One of said artists tripped and almost knocked a light onto Adrien's head. Adrien leapt out of the way, as several people got in a shouting match. Adrien sighed again. It was the second of many that afternoon.

XxXxXxXxXx

Marinette knew it was unreasonable to still be up staring at her phone at this hour. But here she was, staring at it forlornly. She had many better things she could be doing. Like sleeping. Or patrolling if she wasn't going to go to bed. Marinette had had every intention of patrolling tonight, but when she had transformed and seen a message from Volpina scheduling their first official meeting for the next night, she had immediately dropped out of her suit and flopped onto her bed.

So here she was, two hours later, still staring at her phone, hoping for a text.

"Mari?" Tikki asked softly. "Maybe you should sleep." Marinette didn't respond. Tikki looked at her chosen, worried. "Mari he's ok I promise."

"I know." Marinette replied softly. "I just.."

"You don't have to explain." Tikki murmured. "I understand." Marinette nodded. The two stayed silent for a few more minutes until Mari sighed.

"This is pointless isn't it?" Mari asked softly.

"Mari he's going to text!" Just not yet. "If you go to sleep I bet you a cookie when you wake up you'll have a text from him."

"But then I should stay up!" Mari protested.

"I bet you another cookie that when he learns what time it is here he'll tell you to go to bed." Marinette glared at her kwami before giggling.

"You're right, you're right." She said, standing up. "Doesn't mean I have to like it though." She added as she walked into the bathroom. Tikki smiled fondly at her chosen before starting to munch on a cookie by her bed. Plagg had been asleep most of the day so she didn't know how the two were doing. She sighed and nibbled some more, worrying. A few minutes later, Mari returned and switched off the light, before climbing into bed, clutching her Chat Noir plushie that she'd purchased earlier in the day.

"Goodnight Tikki. Thank you."

"Of course Marinette. Sweet dreams." Marinette wasn't sure she would be able to fall asleep, but she did so quickly. When she did, she dreamed of a black cat that would play with her whenever she went to a forest. It would purr and cuddle. It's emerald green eyes would gleam like it knew something she didn't. But she was happy. She slept soundly. Soundly enough that when the text from Adrien came through, she didn't wake. She owed Tikki a cookie, but when Mari woke up and saw the text, Tikki knew she would give up a lifetime's supply of cookies just to see Marinette's face light up like that every morning.

* * *

A/N: Happy Holidays! :D I hope your December's have been going well. So a few things to address. Yes this chapter was short. I just didn't have much to say about this. I'm just setting up a bit for the next chapters, and to be honest this is just a filler chapter as I'm sure you can guess. But the Tikki scene was cute right? My sister thought so (not that I gave her permission to read this) -_-

I was minding my own business typing away when "Aww that's cute"

God it scared the crap out of me. Anyways. I digress. Next chapter will be longer. I think it'll follow more Marinette. It makes more sense I feel. Also there are going to be some OC introductions in the next few chapters. If you don't like it idk what to tell ya. Adrien is in another COUNTRY now. I'm not gonna invent some bullshit reason that Nathaneal happens to be there too.

Also fun fact about me right now. It is 212 am and I am currently getting way too hyped while listening to the undertale sound track. HOLY SHIT ALL HAIL TOBY FOX LOWKEY JUST SAYIN. I'm sorry. I'm so tired. Ignore my ramblings. But yes. I hope you enjoyed this tho. Imma try to update (though I promise nothing) before I go back to school on the 14th. I can do that right? Well maybe. I'm not sure.

Fun fact #2. This story is 116 pages. 24 of those pages are stuff I haven't used yet that I know belong in this story and will go in but have no viable use yet. That's 8000 plus words that I have written but can't use yet because the plot says NO BEN DON'T DO IT YOU'LL RUIN EVERYTHING and I'm just like GODDAMIT BRAIN FINE. and it's like yeah bitch who's in charge now. and I'm like half of the time me half of the time you. And then my brain is confused and I'm like shhhh it's a metaphor.

Good god I'm rambling I'm just gonna wrap this up. IGNORE ME

Thank you for reading! Hope you enjoyed! Comment pls I love me some comments. Love all of you

Until Next Time!

~Nebilas~


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

"I hate modeling. I hate it. I hate it a lot, I hate modeling a lot." Adrien confided to Natalie during one of his fifteen minute breaks.

"Yes Adrien I heard you the past several times you've said it today and all of the times you've muttered it in the back of the car." Natalie replied, flipping through paperwork. She muttered a few choice words under her breath about her employer before refocusing. "Two days in America too much for you?"

"Yes." Adrien sighed, putting his head in his hands before realizing it could smudge the makeup and quickly removing them.

"How's Marinette?" Natalie asked.

"About as good as me I think." Adrien said, raking a hand through his hair, before pulling out his phone. He smirked, and shot off another text.

"Was that a pun?" Natalie asked.

"She walked into it!" Adrien defended.

"Defensiveness is the first sign of addiction." Natalie countered.

"To what? Puns?" Adrien asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Yes."

"How can somebody be addicted to puns?" Adrien asked bemused.

"I don't know but if anyone could be, it's definitely you."

"Point conceded, but tell me how."

"Oh look they're ready for you." Natalie commented, not looking up. To Adrien's surprise, they actually were ready.

"How did you do that?" he asked suspiciously.

"Magic." Natalie deadpanned.

"If anyone is magic around here it's Plagg. Wish me luck." Adrien said, standing.

"Good luck trying to get deliberately hit by something in the face so you'll have to stop modelling? That one?"

"Bingo."

XxXxXxXxXx

Marinette took a deep breath as she called on her transformation. With it, she quelled most of the guilt that was roiling inside of her. Namely, she hadn't spoken to Alya since Adrien had left. She knew Alya would want to ask her about it, and even though her best friend was nice enough to avoid the subject, it would still be written all over her face. Marinette just wasn't sure if she was ready to face that. Especially now that she was about to meet Volpina in a calm setting for the first time.

She had no doubt they would get along wonderfully, but she still felt a slight bit of trepidation when it came to actually speaking to the vixen at length. The events around Lila had made her more than a little jumpy. She had caused a few akumas when she was younger, and didn't need any reminder of the mistakes she had made. Yet it seemed fate liked to toy with her, or at the least, Master Fu did.

But damn it Ladybug wasn't brave, so out the window she went. She went slower than she usually did, and she couldn't help but wonder exactly who she was. Chat had said he knew her personally, which meant Adrien knew her personally, which limited it quite a bit. But at the same time, with his modelling career it expanded it ever further. She sighed, resigning herself to mystery at least for a little while.

She arrived fifteen minutes later, having had to land in the middle of two people in an altercation, and simply glaring at them before the two quickly went their separate ways.

She swung up to the meeting place, feeling a stab in her heart as she again remembered her partner would not be there. She sat down and began to fiddle with her yoyo, trying to contain her nerves and emotions.

She felt the urge to look at her phone before remembering that there was no way to access it while transformed. She had told Adrien she was leaving for patrol anyway so she knew he had probably put his phone down. So she waited in silence, without the general comfort of a light shining in her face, distracting her from real life. It took a few minutes, but Volpina finally showed up, looking distracted.

"Hey Volpina." Ladybug said, rising to her feet.

"Hey Ladybug." Volpina replied, extending a hand. Ladybug shook it with a slightly bemused look. "We met in fairly dire circumstances the last two times I feel like a proper introduction was due."

"Fair enough." Ladybug laughed.

"So what's our plan for tonight?" Volpina asked, bouncing on the balls of her feet.

"We're going to patrol your half of Paris tonight."

Volpina pouted. "Just mine?" Ladybug patted her back consolingly.

"Yup. Let's go get you started." The two leapt off of the roof and began taking Chat's patrol route. For a few moments, everything felt right for Mari. Racing around Paris with an animal eared partner eased her mind a considerable amount. But the patrol was uneventful, and was over all too soon for her tastes, and by the looks of it, Volpina's as well, who still seemed slightly distracted, despite the bright demeanor she was holding up.

It was bad enough that Ladybug almost decided to call for a lap of her side of Paris as well, but decided against it, remembering that she and Volpina needed time to talk.

"That was fun!" Volpina said cheerfully. Ladybug couldn't help but feel as though it was slightly forced, but she tamped the feeling down.

"Yeah I just want to make sure that you have the route down before I send you off on your own. I have no doubt you can handle problems, I just want to show you the route Chat…. And I agreed on." Ladybug looked down at the rooftop, willing herself not to cry before looking out over the Paris skyline.

"How are you holding up?" Volpina asked softly. Ladybug hesitated, a moment before sitting down and answering.

"Not great." Ladybug replied truthfully. Volpina joined her, sitting to her left.

"Have you talked to him at all?"

"Yes. A bit. I'm… Honestly not sure if it's made it better or worse." Volpina had no response and Ladybug eventually continued. "I just.. I don't know what to do right now."

"Well it won't be easy. A friend of mine just left and my boyfriend isn't handling it very well. Neither is my best friend to be fair. Or at least I assume. She hasn't talked to me. I've been getting worried.."

"I'm sorry." Ladybug murmured, putting a comforting arm on Volpina's shoulder.

"I just wish she'd talk to me is all. She knows I worry, but I think that's what she's afraid of. But she needs to talk about it to someone. Not to mention it was partially my fault he left."

"What? How?" Volpina hesitated and then shook her head.

"It's not my story to tell. I would, but it could risk my identity, and I don't know if you're comfortable with that yet."

"Well it took me three years with Chaton, and it only took the threat of him leaving to actually tell him. Give me time. I'll get there." Volpina nodded, and awkwardly patted Ladybug's back. They sat in silence for a few moments before Ladybug said something that she'd wanted to say for awhile.

"Stupid cat… Leaving for such a stupid reason, thinking he had to protect me."

"Wait was he threatened?" Volpina asked, alarm flashing across her features.

"I… Don't know. Not really." Ladybug kicked at a stray piece of rock in frustration. "I just… I miss him you know?" Ladybug asked, voice cracking slightly. Volpina looked at her cautiously.

"You love him. Don't you?" Ladybug nodded wordlessly. "Does he know?" Another nod. "Does he love you too?"

"Yes." Volpina paused.

"Does that make it worse or better?" Ladybug didn't respond for a few moments.

"I have no idea. It's not like we've talked about it. I think we're both afraid to."

"I see." Volpina said. "Well you should probably do that."

"I know."

"Soon."

"I know."

"Ladybug." Ladybug glanced over at her new partner who was glaring at her sternly. "You need to talk to him.

"I will.. Just not yet." Volpina sighed and shook her head.

"I know I can't make you do anything, but I will sic illusions on you if you don't talk to him. Communication is key in any relationship, but that's especially true in long distance. Okay?"

"Yeah.. Just not yet." Volpina frowned at her partner but decided to let the subject drop.

"Alright. So tell me then. What will I be doing as the new hero of Paris?" Ladybug smirked and the two began to strategize a new battle strategy for akumas and anything else that came up. The two talked for well over an hour before the subject of Hawkmoth's identity came up.

"Yeah we have no idea." Ladybug said bluntly.

Volpina looked put out. "Seriously? It's been three years.. I'd hoped at least a little progress had been made."

"I know but the butterflies always fly in different directions. And no they don't all go back to the same place we checked. Or rather Chat checked. Apparently they take a roundabout way to wherever they go because he tried mapping it out and it flat out did not work."

"That's upsetting." Volpina muttered.

"You have no idea." Ladybug said with a sigh. "Chaton chased them around for months before I convinced him to take a break."

"And then he left before he could pick it back up behind your back I assume."

"Yeah probably." Ladybug said with an eye roll. The two sat in a comfortable silence for a few moments before Volpina rose to her feet.

"I should head to bed. As should you."

"Hey. I thought I was in charge." Ladybug complained good naturedly.

"Well then I'm the caretaker. Go to bed."

"Yeah… Goodnight Volpina."

Volpina sighed and gave one final concerned look at her idols back. "Goodnight Ladybug."

Volpina turned and leapt off of the roof. The woman in spots however, stayed for another hour, sitting in the same place she always sat, just with an empty spot to her side.

XxXxXxXx

A: Have you talked to Alya?

M: ...No.

A: You need to.

M: I know I know.

A: Promise me you will before you go to sleep.

M: …

A: Marinette Dupain-Cheng

M: Fine fine I will.

I took Volpina on her first patrol today.

A: How'd it go?

M: Fine I suppose. She seemed a little subdued.

A: How so?

M: I don't know just… She said something about a friend not talking to her or something.

But then agin I barely know her so what do I know?

Again*

A: Mm

M: What?

A: Nuthin. Just interesting. I hope her friend contacts her, just like you're about to do with Alya.

M: Kitty relax I'm obviously going to.

A: Then why haven't you yet?

M: Honestly?

A: yes

M: I wasn't ready for her to ask how I was.

A: … Oh.

Wasn't?

M: Yeah I think I might be. I'm gonna text her before I sleep.

A: Good!

Agh break is over. Gtg. Text me when you wake up? Sweet dreams

M: Of course kitty. Have a good shoot.

Marinette took a deep breath. The urge to type 'I love you' was almost overpowering, but she resisted, and forced herself to switch over to Alya's contact. Here, she hesitated again, not entirely sure she was ready to talk to her best friend. She was about to start typing when the phone buzzed in her hand, making her jump and almost drop it. She answered quickly.

"Hello?"

"You answered!" Alya exclaimed.

"Jesus Alya you scared the crap out of me. I was about to text you." Marinette complained, lying down on her bed.

"Sorry.. But you haven't been answering any of my texts. So I finally snapped and just called.

"Yeah.. Sorry if I worried you."

"Oh yeah you're sorry." Alya muttered.

"What? Alya I-"

"Mari save it. I know you're sorry. Apology accepted blah blah. Why didn't you respond though?"

"I wasn't ready." A moment of silence passed between the two girls.

"Fair enough." Alya finally sighed. "You know me too well I guess."

"Still love me?" Marinette asked, teasing.

"Of course girl. Stubborn though you may be. So… Can I ask the question?"

"Yes." Marinette said sullenly.

"How are you doing?" Alya asked, and suddenly, Mari was being overwhelmed. "What did the two of you decide on? Is he ok? He texted Nino but he didn't say shit. And more importantly are you okay?" Alya stopped abruptly and Marinette took a few moments to compose herself.

"Ok. Let's see. We didn't decide anything. He's… Fine. I'm… Fine. I'm keeping myself busy."

"Whatever works?"

"Pretty much yeah." Marinette said softly. Alya sighed.

"Look girl I gotta sleep. But let's meet up tomorrow for lunch?"

"Yes please. I'll text you when I wake up."

"Sounds good. Night 'nette."

"Night Alya. Sleep well." She hung up and sighed. Tikki came over and nuzzled her cheek. Mari stroked the kwami's head habitually. She eventually fell asleep and Tikki retreated to her own bed, where she had a cookie waiting. She was reluctant to go to sleep. Whenever Plagg got too far away, namely a few hundred kilometers or more, she started having nightmares. They hadn't started yet, but she knew they would soon. And sometimes, they would go to her chosen as well.

She looked at her chosen in concern. She still held more than a few secrets, and there were some she wasn't sure if she wanted Marinette to see. She sighed and reluctantly curled up, ready to sleep. She just hoped Marinette wouldn't ask too many questions in the morning.

* * *

 _A/N: I have retuuuurned. (Imagine me singing that) But yeah. This was a fun chapter. I wasn't sure whether or not I should have Mari talk to Alya this chapter or next but I decided this one because a) It fits more with her character and b) this chapter wasn't really long enough but that's besides the point. Next chapter should be.. Something? idk where I'm at in my own timeline. I don't know how quickly I want things to move along. It's what, middle of May right now I think in the story? I can work with that. Somebody please correct me if I'm wrong I lose track of my own writing after a while._

 _Anyways I hope you're all doing well. If you're back in school like I am, I wish you luck. I'm posting this in between all of the chaos I'm in. Shout out to my bio teacher for not explaining how to turn in the homework. Also shout out to my math teacher for assigning._

 _Also TIKKI FORESHADOWING muahahahhahahaha (too many haha?) Sorry :D_

 _Anyways love you all. I'll see you all in the next chapter. As always pls review I need the feedback. It really helps me out with my writing._

 _Until Next Time!_

 _~Nebilas~_


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

"Why the interview?" Adrien's displeasure was evident in his voice, and Natalie sighed. She opened her messages from Gabriel and began to scroll through them.

"You know how much your father wants you to be popular. Also, he apparently wants you to start an Instagram." Natalie scrolled through her phone further and grimaced. "He's going to call you in five minutes is that okay?"

"No. But yes." Adrien said, moving away. "Is the interviewer coming here?"

"Yes. In about half an hour."

"Oh lovely." Adrien didn't bother to keep up any sort of facade around Natalie anymore. She knew how he actually felt about all of the things he did, and thus felt comfortable around her. He departed to his room and changed for the interview, throwing on a designer shirt his father had designed and khaki shorts. Then he waited for his father to call.

He didn't have to wait long, and his phone was soon buzzing on his desk. He picked it up reluctantly, wishing that he didn't have to have this conversation.

"Hello father." He said, keeping his voice void of any and all emotion.

"Hello Adrien." His father replied. "How is everything going out there?"

"The shoots are going well as one could expect. The american photographers don't seem nearly as competent. They argue all the time."

"Well that was to be expected. Vincent got to know your ins and outs personally. Give it time, and we'll find someone who can do the same." Gabriel said.

"I know you will. Regardless. Was there anything else you wanted to talk about?" Adrien asked, wanting the conversation to be over. "I have an interview soon after all."

"Yes. Actually it's about that." When Gabriel received no reply he continued. "It is almost a guarantee that the interviewer will ask about your.. Availability." Adrien's stomach clenched.

"I refuse to date anyone yet, I just got here." Adrien said firmly.

"Of course not yet. All of the publicists say that would be terrible for your image. We'll give it a month or so, but I'll pull some numbers and find some higher class people to match you with. For now you just need to say that you're single."

"Why though? Why does it matter?" Adrien asked.

"That's what the publicists say. Besides. It's not like it's not true." Adrien didn't respond. "Adrien. You _are_ single. You will not mention that Dupain-Cheng girl do you understand me?" Gabriel warned.

"Yes." Adrien muttered.

"Excellent. And you are aware that the gala you're attending has been moved back?"

"Yes." Adrien said blandly.

"And you're aware of the couple style photoshoot you're doing next week?" Adrien felt his gut clench.

"I am now."

"Yes.. I just added it after I saw who you were sending most of your texts to. I felt it would do you good to remember that you won't be seeing her soon." Adrien felt a stab go through his heart and he gritted his teeth.

"Was that really necessary? I'm perfectly well aware of it." He forced out.

"Well even if it wasn't, it's done. She's quite attractive too I hear."

"Stop it." Adrien hissed.

"Or what Adrien? Please tell me what you'll do to me." Adrien could hear his sneer on the other side of the phone. Adrien didn't reply. He didn't want to give his father the satisfaction. "Ah well. Enjoy your interview. I understand that the woman doing it can be a bit.. _Catty."_ Adrien's eyes widened with the inflection on the last word. "I will speak to you later." And he hung up.

Adrien had a brief moment where he panicked, convinced that his father knew he was Chat Noir, but he quickly forced it down. _He would have put a stop to it. Or at least tried to._ He reasoned with himself. He exited his room and sat down in the living room to wait, trying to get that paranoia out of his head. _He doesn't know._ He told himself. _He doesn't know._

 _XxXxXxXxXx_

"Alya, no."

"Oh come on Marinette." Alya pleaded, following Mari into her bedroom.

"Look I'm just not feeling a party, okay?" Mari replied, tossing her workout bag onto her bed, before tossing a towel at Alya, who caught it and wiped her brow.

"Exactly! All the more reason to go. You're feeling down, I'm here to pick you back up." Alya said, tossing the towel back. Mari scowled at her as she caught it, and threw it in the laundry basket.

"Who all is going?" Mari asked, making sure Alya could see her wiping her hands.

"Most everyone sans Chloe and Sabrina. I made sure of it this year after last year's fiasco." Marinette hesitated.

"How sure?" Mari asked wearily.

"Very, _very_ sure." Alya said, a smirk on her face. Mari eyed her friend warily. She sighed, electing not to question her best friend.

"I'll think about it." Mari finally said. Alya muttered a few choice word under her breath and sat down on Mari's bed, looking morose. "When is the party anyways?" Mari asked, grabbing a nearby water bottle and taking a drink.

"Saturday. In two weeks." Alya replied, perking up slightly.

"Don't you have your boy toy?" Mari asked, resignation in her tone.

"Yes, but he's not by best friend." Alya pointed out." Besides, we haven't gotten drunk together in _forever._ It'll be fun!" Marinette sighed.

"Yeah.. You're right. I'll go."

" _Yes!"_ Alya said gleefully.

"I'm probably not gonna drink too much though." Mari warned.

"As long as you come I'm happy." Alya said grinning, and bouncing off of the bed.

"I don't know why I let you do this to me." Mari muttered.

"Cause you love me." Alya replied pulling Mari into a hug.

"Yeah yeah." Mari grumbled, but she was smiling. The two girls spent the next few hours wasting time in any way possible, but all too soon, Alya had to leave. Mari had a few hours before patrol started, and at Tikki's urging, went for a run.

Marinette wasn't entirely sure why she was working out again. She was already a gym rat, and that was before she took into account her extracurricular activities as Ladybug. According to Tikki, many Ladybug's before her had felt calmest when working out, and used it as a way to clear their heads. So here she was, working out for the second time that day, going on a run, pumping music through her earbuds, trying to block out the world. She did this perhaps a little too well, missing the person watching her from across the street.

She jogged past Alya's house, hoping to God her best friend wouldn't look out and see her running again. Alya was worried enough about her as it was. She cranked up her volume even higher as she neared a public park, trying to ignore other people around her. She wasn't sure why she was so set on not hearing anyone else besides whatever artist was currently on. If she was honest with herself, it was to temporarily forget about everything that had been tormenting her the past few days. Namely Adrien, and now the party that was in two weeks. She sighed and slowed her run as she neared the Seine, signifying she was now two miles away from home.

She sat down on a bench overlooking the river and let out a sigh, watching a few boats pass. The river was beginning to show the first touches of changing from blue to orange, announcing that the day was nearing its end. She sat alone, enjoying the breeze in her face, and basking in the light of the descending sun. She let out a contented sigh, only to have her entire experience ruined by a person sitting next to her. She let out another sigh, this one far less content, and she made to rise, only for the person to grab her wrist. She whipped around, incredulous, and found herself face to face with a gun.

"Sit." The man said, voice muffled. Mari did so, suddenly all too aware of how effectively she'd blocked out everything around her. "Now here is how this will work." The man said. Marinette noticed he was calm. _So he's done this before._ She thought grimly. "You're going to hand me your phone." Mari did so slowly, looking for an opening as she did so, but unable to find one, simply handed it over. He pocketed it, and Mari could practically _feel_ the smug grin under his mask. "Now the earrings."

"No." Mari said. The man's eyebrows raised.

"Let's try that again." he growled, tightening his grip on her wrist. Mari winced and nodded, quickly trying to form a plan. He released her wrist and she slowly reached up, and took out her first earring. He was holding out his hand for it, and a plan suddenly popped into her mind. She took a deep breath and made to put the earring in his hand, only to jab the sharp end into his palm. The man cursed, and out of reflex, moved his gun hand so that it was facing away from her. Mari acted swiftly, dealing a left hook to his temple and knocking the gun out of his hands. It clattered away, and Mari was in her element. The mugger never stood a chance.

He leapt to his feet and pulled out a knife, only to have it kicked out of his hand. Mari then dealt a jab to his nose, leaving him disoriented, and she finished him off with an uppercut and a punch to his solar plexus, leaving him sprawled on the ground. Mari walked over and removed her phone from his pocket, hoping it hadn't broken.

"Well then." Came a voice behind her. Mari whipped around and her breath caught in her throat. Standing behind her was Volpina, but she was standing in such a way that it reminded her of Chat. "Here I was coming to help but it looks like- Woah are you okay?" Volpina asked, looking alarmed. Mari had fallen to her knees and was fighting off the urge to vomit. _Way too much like Chat._ Everything she had been running away from for the past half an hour flooded back into her system.

"I'm fine." She bit out, trying not to show her face.

"Are you sure?" Volpina asked. "What's your name?"

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng." Mari said. "You're the new superhero right?"

"That's me." Volpina said, bowing. Mari felt her gut clench.

"Could you not do that please?" Mari growled. Volpina took a step back, surprised. "Sorry." Mari muttered. "It's just I knew Chat pretty well, and now.. Well." Volpina's face showed an array of emotions, but settled on apologetic.

"I'm so sorry I didn't mean to remind you of him."

"It's fine." Mari said, crossing her arms. "So why were you here? Seems a bit early for patrol, and you had no idea I was going to get attacked so…"

"I… Was in the area." Volpina said, rubbing her arm awkwardly, refusing to make eye contact.

"Uh huh." Mari said, unconvinced. Volpina gave an involuntary shudder, suddenly feeling like she was being interrogated.

"Anyways. I'm going to take this guy to the police." She said, looking for an excuse to end the awkwardness of the situation. "Thanks for doing my job for me.

"My pleasure." Mari said dryly. She concealed a smirk as Volpina tried to figure out just how to carry the man. "What's your hero name?" She asked, purely to keep face. Alya looked thoughtful.

"Well.. It's currently Volpina, but that just reminds me of that akuma, so I'm thinking of trying something else."

"Foxy?" Mari suggested, grinning.

"No." The nameless fox themed hero said flatly. "Something… Original."

"Rogue of Paris." Mari said dramatically. The fox rolled her eyes.

"I think that was the Cat's unofficial title." She pointed out. Mari laughed. "But I do like the Rogue part…" She said thoughtfully.

"How about Rena?" Mari asked, thinking of an old conversation she'd had with Alya. "Rena Rogue."

"Rena Rogue.." She said thoughtfully. "I like it.. But maybe Rena Rouge. I am a red fox after all."

"Better than Foxy?" Mari asked, pouting.

"Yes." Rena said, rolling her eyes.

"Alrighty then. Have a good night Rena Rouge." Mari said softly, a smile on her face.

"Goodnight Marinette Dupain-Cheng." Rena Rouge replied, smiling back. Then she turned around and started running towards the nearest police station. Marinette took a shaky breath and broke into a jog, heading back home.

* * *

 _A/N:_ _Ahhh finally. What? No I haven't had 80% of this chapter written for like two weeks psssh who do you take me for. What? No it's not 325 AM. HahAhaHAhahahaha (starts crying)_

 _Okay but in all seriousness I'm so fucking tired. I don't know what's wrong with me. I haven't gotten to sleep before 2 AM this semester and it's not good. I've been holding it together pretty well but I'm pretty sure I'm on the edge of a breakdown. I just need a hug tbh. I need a hug and like thirty straight hours of sleep. That's what I need. Okay less depressing stuff from here on out I promise._

 _Ayyyy Rena Rouge is canon! I love Alya so much. Like goddam she the best. (Me: YES KICK ASS, Her: *Kicks ass*, Me: Gosh I hope she stays for a while, Fu: Takes back miraculous, Me: *Stares at Thomas Arstuc, Thomas: LOL) Ugh. Anyways._

 _We're nearing one of my favorite parts. I don't know why it's my favorite it's actually kind of terrible, but I've had it written for forever, but SPOILER: There will be ******* ***********. Ha yeah no like I'd tell you. Ooh stand by me just came on spotify hell yes. I'm jammin._

 _Also all hail Dido Queen of Carthage. She deserves so much better from life. Like Juno and Venus need to knock it off and let people go deal with their prophecies._

 _I apologize for that bit right above this that has literally nothing to do with anything. Regardless. I'm going to try and bang out another chapter of this and of a different fic before... Oh I dunnon.. 2019? I'm just kidding I swear. Probably more like the end of this month I hope/think/pray. There will certainly be another one for this, but I need to write more of my Harry Potter AU goddamit. Please get on me about that. In the meantime, I hope you enjoyed this chapter!_

 _Please let me know what you thought, I really need feedback so I know what I did wrong. I'm tired enough that (OMG I ALMOST PUT MY ACTUAL NAME DOWN LMAO I"M EXHAUSTED YOU'D ALL HAVE BEEN LIKE WHO THE FUCK IS THAT GUY? LOL MOVING ON) I probably made mistakes and what not. So please let me know. I love you all. Now I'm going to sleep._

 _Until Next Time_

 _~Nebilas~_


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

 _One Week Later_

Adrien sighed and cracked his shoulders. Showtime. One week had passed since he had arrived in the states, and the modelling scene was exactly the same as it had always been. Try this on, _click click click,_ pose like this, _click click click,_ change into this, _click click,_ and so on for many wonderful hours. Every time he finished a shoot the photographer would peruse the photos and then tell him without fail that he was holding back. Adrien didn't know what to make of this, and was getting quite tired of it being repeated to him. He had no intention of putting that extra foot forward.

That changed when he walked out of the changing room and bumped into the photographer he had seen his first day.

"Oh! Sorry!" Adrien blurted.

"It's okay. My bad." The photographer said, pulling out his earbuds, giving Adrien a warm smile. It was the most genuine thing that Adrien had seen from a person besides Natalie since he had left and felt himself relaxing.

"So. Are you my photographer today?" Adrien asked.

"Indeed I am." The young man grinned. Adrien suddenly realized that he couldn't be much older than him. He had a young face, but the way he carried himself gave him the air of someone older and more confident. He had short blonde hair that was styled upwards, and he was sporting a grey beanie.

"How old are you?" Adrien asked. The blonde laughed.

"Just turned twenty. How about yourself?" Adrien cocked an eyebrow.

"You don't know?" Every other person in this place seemed to know everything about him, but the photographer just shrugged.

"Nope. I don't read tabloids on my subjects. It makes conversation easier. I'm Chris by the way." He added, extending his hand. Adrien shook it.

"Adrien. Nice to meet you."

"Is that your first outfit?" Chris asked, gesturing to the outfit Adrien was wearing.

"Uh.. Yeah." Chris nodded and before Adrien could react, Chris raised his camera and snapped a photo. He looked at it and let out a bark of laughter before turning the camera around. Adrien had an expression of shock that looked very comical. Adrien looked from the photo to Chris almost incredulously. Chris winked.

"I don't do photoshoots like other people Adrien. Now get on that stage. Actually don't. Lean against that wall." Adrien did, bemused as Chris continued to talk, about anything and everything. He gave no feedback as to how Adrien was doing, merely asking him to pose a certain way once in a while. And as time went on, Adrien found himself joining in the discussion, responding, and feeling more like himself than he had in ages. The conversation ranged from trivial things, such as football (which Adrien was astonished to find that Chris believed the word soccer was stupid) to best places to eat in Portland, to music. But as the photoshoot went on, and the conversation about college died down, Chris finished up another outfit and raked a hand through his hair.

"Any more?" Adrien asked.

"Just one more outfit." Chris said distractedly, scrolling through his camera. "My god you are attractive." Adrien laughed awkwardly. Chris seemed to realize what he said and smirked. "What's wrong Agreste? Can't handle some light flirting?"

"You'd be surprised." Adrien countered, firing off his best Chat look. Chris looked taken aback before chuckling.

"Point made. Now go change." Adrien did so, donning a navy blue sweatshirt and khaki pants, which he had to admit, looked really good. He strode out of the changing room to find Chris typing on his phone, a forlorn look on his face, before shoving it back in his pocket. Adrien glanced at him questioningly but Chris just smiled and waved him off. The next five minutes were filled with an awkward silence. Chris kept glowering at his camera. Adrien decided to broach the subject.

"Chris? I know we only just started to talk today.. But do you need to vent?" Chris looked at him guiltily before letting out a sigh.

"Have you ever been in love with someone you can't have?" He asked. Adrien felt a jolt run through his heart. "I'm sort of like that right now." Chris looked away, pulling out his phone again. "She loves me too. But she lives a thousand miles away."

Adrien made a noise and Chris looked at him questioningly.

"Nothing.. It's just funny. I'm in the same boat." Chris gestured for him to continue, looking intrigued. "Well.. There's this girl I'm in love with back home in Paris. But I don't know when I'll be able to see her again." Adrien sighed and wandered over to a chair and sat down, looking down at his hands. "We aren't even technically together. We only got together the night before I left. God that was stupid, what the hell was I thinking? And now I'm trying not to talk to her but I'm just miserable all the time."

"It's not stupid." Chris interrupted, who was now switching out one of his camera lenses.

"It's not?" Adrien asked derisively.

"You trying not to talk to her is." He said. "But getting together the night before you left wasn't stupid."

"That's the least rational thing I could have done!" Adrien protested.

"Probably." Chris replied, shrugging.

"Then…" Adrien said, lost.

"Love isn't rational." Chris said simply. When Adrien only looked more confused, he elaborated. "Love makes no sense. If it did, relationships would be boring. The terror of starting a relationship is what makes it so valuable. 'Rational' has nothing to do with it.' Because 'rationally', I shouldn't be in love with my girlfriend. But guess what? I still am. Do I like it? Not all the time. There are days where I wish I wasn't in love with someone who lives halfway across the country. But I do. And the days when I do see her… Those make everything worth it. The surprise visits, the first moments when we see each other after months and months, the way we're able to be happy even though we know one of us will have to leave much sooner than we would like. That's what love is. It's what makes us human. If we tried to be rational, we would be denying our heart and soul of what they truly want." He fixed Adrien with a piercing stare. "And that's worse than anything love can do to you."

Adrien was speechless. The speech from Chris had all but destroyed the wall he had built around his emotions for Marinette. But he had one last thing still protecting him.

"And what if we try and it doesn't work?" He asked. Chris sighed and stared at the ceiling for a brief moment.

"Then you're living your life in fear. And if you do that.. Well based on this conversation I'd wager that you'd find yourself in the place you least want to be in in five years. Working for your father, continuing the family trade." He turned to Adrien again, and Adrien felt as though Chris was staring into his soul. "And most likely married to somebody who you do not love. And that, for me at least, is far worse than working for your father." He sighed again. "Look Adrien.. Just think about it. I'm not telling you it will be easy. Because it won't be. It will be excruciatingly difficult. But it's worth it."

"Wouldn't it be easier if I kept my distance and tried to fall _out_ of love?" Adrien asked, desperately searching for a way out. Chris actually threw his head back and laughed.

"Tried that myself. Went to Africa and Asia for six months. Nothing changed."

"What if I cut off all communication?" Adrien asked, grasping at straws.

"Adrien, on a scale of 1 to 10 how happy have you been since you've been here?"

"I… um.. 3? Maybe? Not at all really."

"And how much of that is because of your 'princess?'" Chris asked gently.

"... Most of it." Adrien whispered, feeling a tear roll down his face. He quickly wiped it away. "I love her." He whispered. "So damn much."

"Hurts doesn't it." Chris said. It wasn't a question.

"I'm not sure if I want to punch you or hug you." Adrien asked, laughing dryly.

"Both probably. It's what my sister did the last time I gave her relationship advice." Chris replied. "Are you ready for the last outfit? I have a feeling this one might be the best."

"I doubt it. My eyes are all red." Adrien said, rubbing at one of the offenders.

"Trust me." Chris replied, smirking.

One week later, when the pictures came out, Chris had been right. The last set of pictures was easily the best. At least Marinette Dupain-Cheng thought so, as did the majority of those who saw them.

XxXxXxXxXx

 _One Week Later_

 _M: Have you SEEN the last photoshoot?_

 _A: Ye._

 _M: Are you aware of how attractive you are._

 _A: Ye._

 _M: Remind me why I love you again?_

 _A: Cuz I'm a huge dork underneath this raw muscle (kisses bicep)_

 _M: Ahh yes thank you I'd nearly forgotten._

 _A: har har._

 _Hey Mari can we call? There's something I need to talk to you about._

 _M: Sure kitty what's up?_

 _A: nothing bad I promise. Just I have a question for you._

 _M: Okay. Give me a minute and then I can._

 _A: Wait no not yet. I mean later._

 _M: oh ok. Yeah. Like tomorrow? Cause I have Alya's party to go to._

 _A: that works. Just call me whenever I have a photoshoot tomorrow, but Chris is super flexible._

 _M: Sounds good kitty._

Marinette sighed, and tossed her phone onto the bed. She needed to get ready. She also had a question to ask her kwami.

"Hey Tikki?" Marinette called. Tikki whizzed out of her hiding spot and nestled in her hair, as she had gotten into the habit of doing recently.

"What's up Marinette?" Tikki asked.

"What would you say if I wanted to tell Alya my secret?" Tikki went silent, contemplating. It was an idea that Marinette had been weighing since… Well, forever, but recently it had been amplified to the extreme. When she had told Adrien who she was, it had been a massive burden lifted off of her shoulders. Finally, _finally_ somebody else knew her secret. Somebody she trusted with everything about herself.

From the beginning, she had always wanted to tell Alya the truth about Ladybug, but she had always resisted. Now, for some reason the selfish end of her was practically screaming at her to tell Alya the truth. Either way, it wouldn't be happening tonight. It was Saturday, and the party Alya was throwing was an hour away. She needed to tell her when Alya had time to absorb the news.

It had been two weeks since Adrien's departure, and she was doing a bit better. Rena Rouge was surprisingly helpful, and Alya was always there if she needed her. She and Adrien had fallen into the habit of flirting shamelessly over text and phone calls, but nothing had come of it. She was daring to hope. She had seen the interview where he had said he was single, but Adrien had warned her ahead of time that was coming out, and that his father was behind it.

She was broken from her thoughts when Tikki began to speak.

"I think," Tikki said slowly "that might be a good idea."

"Really?" Marinette asked, surprised.

"Yes." Tikki confirmed. She jumped off of her chosens head, and started to float in lazy circles around her. "It would be good for you. At this point, I'm sure she understands the risks and would want to know." Marinette snorted.

"She's wanted to know for years now." She pointed out, snatching a black shirt from her closet. "My motivations in this are purely selfish."

"Sometimes it's okay to be selfish." Tikki said sagely. "I like your shirt." She added, as Mari took off her pink one, and switched it out for the black one. The one that had a Chat Noir paw print on it. "You should send Adrien a picture." She added, grinning.

"You think?" Mari asked, giving herself a once over in the mirror.

"I know." Tikki said, grin getting even wider.

"Alright." Mari said, snatching her phone, and giving the camera her best sultry expression. "Damn I look good." She said, inspecting the picture. Tikki laughed from behind her as she sent it.

8200 miles away, Adrien Agreste let out a surprised squeak and dropped his phone, his face beet red.

 _A/N: OMG a chapter finished at a decent hour? It's 1 PM not 1 AM I'm so confused! Next chapter should be fun. Spoiler. Chloe is a bitch._

 _I don't really have all that much to say right now. I'm not tired enough to ramble. I got like nine hours of sleep last night which is insane. I'm not used to this. I hope you have a good day lovelies. I'm going to try and add to one of my other stories before I add to this one again, but we'll see. If I do, this won't come out long after._

 _Please Review! I like feedback. It helps a lot._

 _Until Next Time!_

 _~Nebilas~_


	17. Chapter 17

**STORY ANNOUNCEMENT AT BOTTOM! PLEASE READ. REGARDS FUTURE UPDATES**

* * *

 **Chapter 17**

 _M: Wish you were coming kitty._

 _A: Yeah me too. Better than this._

 _Whoops Chris just took offense._

 _M: Hahaha tell him I take priority._

 _A: He knows._

 _M: Miss you kitty. Talk to you later?_

 _A: Sounds good princess. Have fun_

 _I miss you too._

Mari snagged her jacket from her desk, and pulled it on. She had her hair drawn up in a ponytail, using a bright green hair tie. She had eventually decided to actually wear the Chat Noir shirt, as well as black jeans. The jacket she had pulled on would be coming off as soon as she got to the party, but damn it if she didn't look good with it.

Tikki flew up and nuzzled her cheek before disappearing into one of her pockets. She had decided against bringing her purse this time around. As she walked through the bakery, she called out a goodbye to her parents, before snagging a cookie for her kwami and set it in her pocket for Tikki to eat later on.

As she walked, she considered what had happened over the last few weeks. Ever since Adrien had left there had only been one akuma. It had taken her, by herself, about five minutes to defeat. By the time Rena had showed up, she was in the middle of purifying. She had laughed off the vixen's attempted apologies, explaining that both she and Chat had both been far more late to a fight before. If Rena had noticed the hitch in her voice when she had said Chat, she didn't bring it up. Regardless, it seemed either Hawkmoth was waiting for an opportune moment, or he was simply not in Paris at the moment.

Either way Marinette was grateful for the reprieve, as it gave her more time to be with Nino and Alya, design, and work at the bakery as needed. Alya often asked how she was doing, and Marinette would fib her way through it, attempting to convince her friend she was fine. In a weird way, she almost was. She would go through the motions of her day, and be happy with the people she was with, but the moment she stopped distracting herself was the moment she could feel the hole in her chest. It hurt. But she trudged on.

She worked out. She got things done. She generally kicked any and all tasks in the ass and from the outside looking in, people would assume she was fine. And at the moment, she was indeed fine. That was until she bumped into someone. Someone by the name Chloe Bourgeois.

"Good god watch where you're going!" Chloe hissed before turning to see just who she'd bumped into. "Oh. It's you." She said disdainfully.

"Sorry Chloe." Marinette forced out, knowing full well that any prolonged conversation with Chloe could end in disaster.

"Damn right you are. This outfit is new." She sniffed.

Marinette knew for a fact this was incorrect, but elected not to comment on it. She began thinking of a reason to get as far away from the girl as possible.

"Still. I'll take my victory." Chloe continued.

"Victory?" Mari asked, cocking an eyebrow.

Chloe smirked. "Why yes. As you well know, Adrien now lives in America, and guess who's going to visit him in a week."

"I presume you." Marinette said dryly, quashing down the pangs of jealousy with the knowledge that Adrien wanted nothing to do with the blonde.

"Of course I won't be there to ask him out. That ship has sailed." Chloe said flippantly.

 _Oh I know_. Mari thought viciously, trying not to throttle the girl. She remembered Adrien's comments about that fiasco all too well.

"But from what I hear, he won't be single for much longer anyway." Chloe added.

"What do you mean?" Marinette asked, fear worming its way into her gut.

"His father is going to give him a girlfriend. Bit outlandish for my tastes, it's practically an arranged marriage. Obviously they won't get married, at least not yet but." Chloe said, scrolling through her phone, already becoming bored with the conversation. Before Mari could even process what had been said, Chloe finished it off. "Still, at least he didn't end up with _you."_

Marinette stared at Chloe, seething. The past four years of torment were suddenly very fresh in her mind.

"Chloe, I never asked, but _why_? Why do you hate me so much? I despise you for actual reasons. You treat other people like trash, you think yourself better than your peers, and generally you're a schadenfreude loving, toxic, shit person to be around but why me?"

Chloe laughed. "Well because of Adrien-" Marinette cut her off.

"Enough with the superficial shit Chloe." She growled. "I want an actual reason." Chloe stared at her, looking slightly taken aback, before glaring at her.

"Fine. You really want to know how I feel about you? I hate that you act like you're above your station. You continually shut down people around you whose opinions vary from yours, as though you're better than them. Not to mention that whole obsessive stalker-crush on Adrien. That wasn't healthy. So I just tried to protect him from you."

"Oh because your relationship with Sabrina was so flawless." Marinette snapped.

"I was fourteen." Chloe growled.

"So was I!" Marinette fired back.

"Your crush never went away did it though?" Chloe sneered. "Besides, it's not like you've ever had a real relationship with Adrien anyway. So in that sense, I was successful."

"Successful? At what? Alienating yourself from the only people you could've been friends with?" Marinette asked bitterly.

"Successful at sabotaging the two of you." She said smirking. Marinette's retort caught in her throat.

"What do you mean?" Mari whispered.

"Oh come on. How many times did I "accidentally" interrupt you about to confess to him?" She rolled her eyes and continued. "I knew Adrien would never work up the nerve to tell you himself, so I just had to listen to your not so subtle pep talks with Alya and figure out which days you could possibly ask him. Then it was a matter of waiting."

"Chloe.." Marinette whispered, fists clenching. "You are a despicable human being."

"Sticks and stones Dupain-Cheng." Chloe said, walking past her. "And just think of all the time you two could have had together. Such a shame."

Marinette stood on the sidewalk for a full minute before she could get herself moving again. She numbly walked the final three blocks to Alya's. She pressed the doorbell, the chime slightly breaking her out of her stupor. Alya flung open the door, a wide grin on her face.

"Hey girl!" She exclaimed, but her grin quickly faded as she took in her best friends face. "You ok? What's up?"

"Chloe. She told me something that.. Nothing it's fine. I'm not spoiling tonight. Let me in?" Marinette asked.

"Of course sweetheart get in here." Alya said, briefly enveloping Marinette in a hug before moving aside.

Marinette murmured hellos to the people who spotted her, but took a few minutes to herself to try and recover. Chloe's revelation had shaken her a bit more than she would have liked to admit.

"Sup party pooper?" A voice asked. Marinette glanced up and found Kim standing over her. Marinette sighed.

"Bumped into Chloe on the way over here." She said. Kim cringed.

"My condolences." He replied. "Must have been worse than usual."

Mari laughed bitterly. "Just a bit yeah." She said.

"Nothing like alcohol to distract yourself." He said, gesturing towards a beer.

Marinette scoffed, but a smile crept onto her face.

"Yeah cause that's healthy." She waved him off as he cocked an eyebrow. "I'll have some later, I won't be completely miserable."

"Good." Kim said, relieved. "Cause if you're miserable then Alya gets pissed and she'll throw us out."

"Good to know your priorities." Marinette said dryly.

Kim winked and grinned before heading off to find Alix. Marinette settled in for a few more minutes, before deciding she needed encouragement to get her night started. She set out in search of Alya, and found her rather quickly, chatting with a Juleka and Rose in the kitchen.

"Why am I here again?" Mari asked bluntly.

"Because I'm your best friend and I'm hosting the party. Have a drink." Alya replied, a smirk on her face. She handed a clear drink to Mari who took a sip and choked, spitting some of it out.

"The fuck is this?" She gasped. Alya laughed.

"Gin and Tonic. Were you expecting water?" Alya winked and sent Mari off to go talk to other people. Marinette sighed and sat down on one of the couches in the living room. Nino joined her after a bit, holding a drink of his own.

"Hey 'nette." He greeted.

"Hey lover boy." She replied. He chuckled.

"How are you holding up?" He asked softly. Marinette took a long drink.

"Well you just get straight to the point don't you." Nino's lip twitched but he didn't smile. "Not great." She said after a few moments of silence, finishing the rest of her drink in one gulp and grabbing a beer from nearby. "How are you doing?"

"Guess." He muttered, taking a swig.

"Same as me?" Mari guessed, snatching a bottle opener, before staring at the bottle thoughtfully.

"Problem?" Nino asked.

"I don't think this will get me drunk fast enough." Mari commented. Nino let out a bark of laughter.

"No it won't. But…" He let out a loud whistle which got the attention of quite a few people. "Which of you jokers has the tequila?"

"I'm not done with it." Nathanael shouted back from across the room.

"Shut up German boy! Go drink your beer!" Kim hollered. Nathanael laughed, as did many others, and quickly poured himself another shot before weaving through the crowd and delivering the glass bottle to Nino.

"Thank you kindly sir." Nino grinned.

"Hey Marinette." Nathanael said.

"Hey Nath. I didn't think you'd be here." Mari said smirking. "I believe your exact words when we asked you last year were, 'I don't do people'." Nathanael laughed.

"I've changed quite a bit. Plus Alya promised me that Chloe wouldn't be here."

"And she really won't be." Alya said, popping up behind him. "I made sure of it."

"What'd you threaten her with this time?" Rose asked, sliding into the conversation.

"What do you mean this time?" Alya asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"Alya we all know you have mad hacking skills." Nathanael said, rolling his eyes.

"And we all know that you could easily destroy pretty much anyone if you wanted." Kim added.

"I mean really girl." Mari said, pouring tequila into a solo cup. "You threatened an entire restaurant on my behalf once. God knows what you could do to Chloe if you were actually vengeful." She winked and took a gulp, before pulling a face. "Yech."

"Newbie." Kim smirked.

"I don't recall asking your opinion." Mari replied, taking a sip of her beer.

"But seriously what did you do?" Nino asked, joining in. Alya sighed dramatically, but nobody was fooled. They all knew how much she liked to boast.

"I may or may not have become knowledgeable of some of her… Unsavory habits." Alya said smugly. Suddenly she had the rapt attention of everyone.

"What is it?" No less than five people shouted.

"I'm sure I don't know." Alya replied airily. "But did you know that it's illegal to possess various opioids in France? Because I do." With that she flaunted away, most of the crowd following her, practically begging for specifics.

"That girl." Mari said, shaking her head.

"Yep. Isn't she the best?" Nino replied, sighing dreamily.

"Ookay. If that's going to be the way our conversation goes I'm just gonna drown myself in this bottle." Mari said, raising the tequila.

"Hardy har." Nino said, rolling his eyes. "Look. Just be careful okay? And let me know if you need anything."

"Thanks Nino." Mari said softly as her friend got up to follow his girlfriend.

The night went by quickly. It became a blur for Marinette. She chatted with people, she drank. She watched an episode of Stranger Things with a few people. She drank. She chatted some more. She drank some more. The party (cough) _social gathering_ went long into the next morning. Ordinarily, Mari would have long set down her alcoholic beverages in favor of water or juice. But tonight wasn't ordinary. Her heart was hurting, and she wanted to numb the pain. So she kept drinking.

What was also out of the ordinary was Alya. She wasn't watching Marinette like she usually would. She trusted her best friend with everything, but she still worried. Especially these days, ever since Adrien had left. But tonight, she was distracted by a good number of things. Her boyfriend, for one. But then there was the fact she had to make sure nobody destroyed her house, which wasn't likely but still possible. But Marinette, for the first time since Adrien left, truly slid to the back of her mind, and it came at the worst possible time. Marinette drank nonstop until three in the morning when the last people, namely Nino and Kim finally took their leaves, waving goodbye. Alya had no idea how well and truly gone Marinette was until she was almost bowled over by Marinette fleeing to the bathroom, and running into a good many things while she was doing it.

Alya stood stock still for a moment, trying to process what she had seen. She was snapped out of the stupor when she heard retching and quickly pursued her best friend. She tapped on the door lightly and opened it.

"Marinette?" She asked, concerned. She cringed when she saw her best friend kneeling in front of the toilet, hair dishevelled, with the smell of vomit prominent in the air. The rattling breaths that Mari was taking weren't helping ease her concern either. "Hey girl." Alya whispered, moving next to her. She physically recoiled when she saw her friends face. She was so pale. Too pale, even for this. Mari glanced over at her best friend, but her eyes seemed to gloss over her, as if she didn't register that she was there.

"Alya?" She croaked, falling away from the toilet. Alya quickly caught her before pulling her into an embrace.

"I'm here sweetie I'm here. I've got you." Alya whispered, running a hand through her best friend's hair. The two sat in silence for a few moments, Alya's mind going into overdrive. She was absolutely furious with herself. _I should have been paying attention._ She said, digging her nails into her palm. She refocused. There would be time to blame herself later. For now she needed to focus on the girl in front of her. "How does sleep sound sweetheart?" She asked softly.

"That might be a good idea." Marinette murmured, eyes drifting shut. After a few moments, Alya sighed, watching her friend closely. Alya gently grabbed one of Mari's hands, and almost on a whim, kissed it.

"Chaton?" Mari whispered. Alya's head snapped up. _Chaton?_ _Does she mean Chat Noir?_ Alya suddenly remembered what Mari had said when she had met her as Volpina, mentioning that she and Chat were close. Despite the questions she had brewing inside of her, she somehow kept her trap shut, and kept listening. When Mari received no response, she forced her eyes open and found Alya staring at her. She cocked her head slightly, before sighing. "No… He's not back yet. I know that." A long pause followed. Mari's head drooped, and for a moment, Alya thought she had fallen asleep. She was prepared to pick her up when Mari began speaking again. "Alya?"

"Yes Marinette?" Alya asked softly.

"When I wake up tomorrow… Remind me to tell you."

"Tell me what?" Alya asked.

"That I'm Ladybug." She murmured. Alya froze in shock. That… That couldn't… It… _Makes perfect sense._ Her brain whispered. And things began to click. It did. It made perfect sense. Alya took a deep breath, trying to contain her new excitement that her best friend was Ladybug. Her idol, new co-hero was her best friend. She sat down on the edge of the bathtub in an effort to try to clear her thoughts.

Her best friend, who was currently suffering from drinking too much alcohol, and needed to go to bed, was her idol and crime fighting partner. She called for Trixx, who had been hiding most of the night, but was currently floating around the kitchen, searching for apples.

"Hey Alya…" Trixx took in the sight and winced. "Yikes."

"Yeah. Think I could transform for a bit? It'd be easier to get her to bed." Trixx nodded.

"Of course! Go ahead." Alya transformed and picked up her best friend, and carried her up the stairs to her bed. Marinette murmured as she was set down but seemed to have asleep, despite her earlier insistence not to. Alya detransformed and sat down next to her, stroking Marinette's hair absentmindedly.

"Marinette!" A voice shouted. Immediately Trixx and Alya were on high alert, as everyone had left. Trixx gave Alya a signal and disappeared through a wall. Alya remained sitting but didn't move. There was silence for a few moments, until…

"TIKKI!" _Whump CRASH tinkle._ Alya leapt to her feet.

"Trixx?" Alya shouted.

"It's okay!" Trixx shouted back. "I found Ladybug's kwami!"

"Tell her Marinette is up here." Alya replied. Tikki shot through the door a mere ten seconds later.

"Marinette!" She squeaked, seeing the state that her chosen was in. She immediately turned on Alya. "What happened? Will she be okay?"

"She drank waaay too much. Yes, she should be fine, but if not, my mom should be here soon regardless." Tikki gave her a weird look, so she elaborated. "She's a nurse."

"Oh, that's good." Tikki said, relaxing slightly. She suddenly seemed to realize that in her panic, she had almost certainly ousted her chosen as Ladybug. "Please tell me she told you on her own." She said, looking nervous.

"Yes, though she was wasted, so I'm not sure if she'll remember it." Alya said, glancing at the girl on her bed.

"She was planning on telling you anyways, though I assume it wasn't supposed to be like this."

Alya scoffed and Trixx giggled.

"Somehow I sense you are correct." Trixx said, pretending to focus.

"Sometimes I think you're more obnoxious than Plagg." Tikki muttered. "You're like prank brothers."

"You're a boy?" Alya blurted, staring at her kwami.

Trixx sighed, clearly having gone through this before. "If that's how you want to view me then sure."

"Kwamis aren't human." Tikki added. "Gender doesn't really mean anything to us."

"We're just kwamis. I've never really understood the human need to put a label on everything." Trixx said, rolling their eyes. "Just be human and be happy about it!"

"Well I prefer she." Tikki said, shooting Alya a wink, who smiled.

"Yeah well you and Plagg always were ahead of the curve in following the human way."

"You've been out of it for 400 years." Tikki pointed out.

"Touche." Trixx conceded. The three fell into a pleasant silence, which lasted until Alya's phone buzzed once. Then a second time. And then her phone was buzzing almost constantly. Alya went pale as she began to read the notifications.

"Alya? What is it?" Trixx asked, picking up on Alya's distress.

"Akuma." Alya said.

"Oh no problem, I'm totally full. Let's go!" Trixx exclaimed.

"It's not that." Alya said.

"Then what?" Trixx asked.

"Marinette is out of commission." Tikki murmured.

"Oh." Trixx said, suddenly realizing their problem. Silence reigned for a few moments as their situation began to sink in. "Well fuck."

* * *

 _A/N: Woah this chapter was long. So yeah. I've had this scene written since last year, I just had to wait to get here. Hope you liked it._

 _But yeah. Shit is going to go down in the next chapter. Poor Alya has to deal with the whole ordeal by herself. Or does she? Who knows? (Literally even I don't know I haven't decided yet.)_

 _... Ok look I'm gonna level with you, this story might have to take a backseat to the rest of my life for a while. Now I'm not going to abandon this for six months or anything, but I'm not gonna lie. College is kicking my ass right now, and I need to immerse myself in that so I don't pull straight D's or some shit. (Not really, but god it feels like it.) Not to mention the other personal problems I'm trying to deal with. So yeah. I guess this is it for awhile? I should return this summer.  
_

 _Love you all._

(Obligatory R&R request here)

Until Next Time

~Nebilas~


	18. Chapter 18

_A/N: Surprise bitches! I bet you thought you'd seen the last of me! :D_

 _Chapter summary: Marinette has dream. Marinette is guilty cause she left new partner on an island. Adrien dies. Gabriel murdered him. Marinette goes after him only to get shot. THE END! Also surprise Gabriel isn't Hawkmoth!_

 _..._

 _I'm joking. Obviously. Except maybe not about that last part. hehe spoilers_

 _Hope you enjoy!_

 _Also Note: This chapter covers pages 121-129 on my Google Docs. This is a long story. Very long._

* * *

 **Chapter 18**

When Marinette came to, the first thing she noticed was a light being shined directly into her eyes. She made a small noise of complaint, and tried to cover her eyes with her arm. Something caught her arm, much to her disgruntlement, and she slammed her eyes shut.

"Marinette." A soft voice said. "I need to see your eyes please."

Marinette attempted to form a response, but her throat was completely dry, and thus she failed miserably. She forced herself to nod, and she slowly cracked open her eyes.

"Thank you dear." The voice said. The light returned and Marinette made a noise of discomfort, but forced her eyes to remain open. "You can shut them again." Marinette did so gratefully, and lay there, listening to the whispers that were coming from somewhere in the room. She couldn't make out any of it, and she began to feel the blackness of sleep overtake her. She allowed it to wash over her, and she dreamt.

XxXxXxXxXx

"I'm going to butcher him." Chat snarled.

"We both know you can't do that Chat." Marinette replied. She jolted and glanced down at herself. She was in costume, but it seemed different. Her outfit was definitely Ladybug themed, and she could feel Tikki's power, but it wasn't _hers._ A glance at Chat made her blood run cold. This wasn't her Chat either. Where was Adrien? She opened her mouth to ask who he was. "We have to apprehend him instead as you well know." She blinked in surprise, as the words came out of her mouth unbidden.

The Chat Noir in front of her lashed his tail and growled. "Says who?" He asked defiantly.

"The council for one." Marinette replied. Again, the words leapt from her mouth without her permission.

"Fuck the council." Chat hissed, though Marinette could tell he was calming down.

"Relax Chat." Marinette murmured. "This is almost over." She heard the roar of a crowd from behind her, and she turned. "Let's move."

Chat Noir was off in a flash, and she quickly took up her position as well. Her body seemed to know what it was doing, even though Marinette herself did not. She crept along a ledge and listened at a window.

"Ahh Mademoiselle Corday, thank you for coming to me." The man inside said.

"Oh believe me, M. Marat. I would not miss this meeting for the world." Marinette let out a hiss of frustration. She couldn't act while the woman was inside.

"You said you have knowledge on the uprising against the government?" Marat asked.

"Oh yes. You may want paper to write this down. I have a lot to say."

At this point, Marinette risked a peek inside. The man Marat was sitting in a bathtub, reaching for paper. Marinette was confused as to why said man was in a bathtub, as this seemed to be a somewhat important meeting, but the woman seemed unphased. She waited patiently as the woman listed off names and various plans. For some reason, she could feel hatred building inside of her the longer she stared at said man. Marinette suspected he was in fact the main reason this past Ladybug was here. Marinette could also feel something tickling the back of her mind. Corday.. She knew that name from somewhere. She refocused as the woman finished her lengthy explanation of a plan that involved sacking a government controlled building.

Marat was practically buzzing with excitement. "This is excellent information. Thank you so very much for your time Mlle. Corday. I must take this to the National Convention!"

The woman's expression suddenly shifted, and Marinette felt a chill run through her body. "Yes you should." The woman said. "It's a shame you won't be able to deliver it in person." With that, she drew out a knife and plunged it into the man's chest. Marinette let out a startled cry and ripped open the window, leaping in.

The man saw her and reached towards her. "Help me, protector!" He cried, before falling back into the tub and falling silent.

"Charlotte what have you done?" Marinette asked, horrorstuck. It was at that moment that Marinette realized who the woman was.

"What had to be done." Charlotte said defiantly. "Are you going to arrest me?"

"I have no choice now." Ladybug said bitterly. On the inside however, Marinette was staring in awe. This was Charlotte Corday. She was a legend from the French Revolution near the end of the 18th century. After her execution for this assassination, she was given the nickname "Angel of Assassination." _(A/N: It's true! Look it up! Also fun fact and I'm not kidding, they determined whether or not she was working alone after her execution by checking to see if she was a virgin or not. No joke.)_

"Then arrest me." Charlotte said, holding out her wrists.

It was at that moment that Chat Noir burst into the room, looking furious. "We have a problem." He said, looking at Ladybug. "The fuck happened to Marat?" He asked in surprise, noting the dead body in the bathtub.

"I killed him." Charlotte said, staring at him defiantly.

"Good work." Chat said, nodding approvingly.

Ladybug glowered while Charlotte looked pleasantly surprised.

Ladybug shook her head and fixated her glare on Chat. "Okay look I have to take her to the National Convention so that she can be tried, what's the problem?"

"A riot." Chat said. "I'll hold them off… Do we really have to turn her in?"

"She _murdered_ him Chat." Ladybug growled.

"Which I probably would have done as well if she hadn't beaten me to it." Chat said cooly. "But fine. I'll testify for her at any rate. Catch up to me outside. Hurry." With that, he leapt out of the window and disappeared from view.

Marinette quickly tied up Charlotte's hands, though it wasn't as though the woman was fighting. It was at that moment that one of Marat's personal guards chose to show up, walking in through the now open door.

The man saw the man he was supposed to be guarding dead in the bathtub, and raised an eyebrow. "Guess it all caught up with him then. I see you've caught the culprit Mlle. Ladybug."

"Yes this is her."

"I will start looking for the accomplice." The man said.

"I worked alone." Charlotte said proudly. The man rolled his eyes, and appeared ready to express his doubt, but Ladybug interrupted.

"You will _not._ You will take her to the National Convention for Trial. I need to find Chat Noir."

"As you say Ladybug." The man said. Marinette could hear the sarcasm in his tone, but chose to ignore it, and promptly left through the same window that Chat had. She could feel the twinge of annoyance that the past Ladybug was feeling, and couldn't help but share that sentiment. It was the way the police had treated her when she had first started out. The condescending tone the man was using was more than a little obnoxious.

She put it aside and swung down the building, landing in front of it, and began scanning for her partner. A cacophony of noise came from around the corner, and she was off. She rounded the corner with a full head of steam, and was greeted to the sight of Chat Noir fending off several people attempting to get to what appeared to be a fleeing politician.

As Marinette ran, Chat snatched a gun away from one, and promptly shot the man in the knee, sending him to the ground, howling in pain. Another man tried to take his head off with a swing of his sword, but Chat ducked and smashed the gun he was still holding into the man's nose, sending him staggering backwards.

Ladybug joined the fight at that point and from there it was effortless. Marinette could feel the rush she always felt when she and Chat fought opponents. These two were just as in sync as she and her Chat were. This made sense, given what Tikki had told her before about how Chat Noirs and Ladybugs were natural partners. Even still, she was amazed at how familiar it all felt, considering how every time she looked at Chat, she was slightly off put by his jet black hair. It didn't take long for the two to finish off the last four assailants, and all were soon groaning from various injuries they had sustained from the two heroes. Chat and Ladybug waited for the guards to show up, and they watched as the men were all arrested.

The guards thanked them, and the two departed, heading up for the rooftops. Marinette followed Chat, the sun setting off to her left.

"Marinette!" A voice called. Marinette paused and listened intently. It was highly unlikely that this Ladybug's name was also Marinette, so she wondered why someone would be calling for her. "Come on lazy you can't sleep all day. I don't care how hungover you're gonna be."

XxXxXxXxXx

Marinette blinked her eyes open. She blinked again, and Alya swam into focus.

"There she is." Alya said, smiling. "How's your head girl?"

Marinette winced as her headache made itself known. "It's been better." She rasped. She tried to swallow, and was greeted with a stab of pain. Alya wordlessly handed her a glass of water. Marinette propped herself up on an elbow and took a long drink. "Who was shining that god-forsaken light in my eyes earlier?" She asked, her voice already sounding considerably better.

Alya chuckled. "My mom. She was making sure you were still a viable human."

"Mmm." Marinette hummed noncommittally, taking another drink of water.

"So.." Alya said, looking anywhere but Marinette, "You said some.. Interesting things last night."

Marinette groaned. "Oh God like what?"

"Well you called me 'Chaton' for one." Alya said, amusement in her voice.

Mari sighed and slapped a hand to her forehead. "Oh Jesus did I really?"

Alya nodded, and then flashed her an almost shy smile. "You also admitted to being Ladybug."

Marinette stared at her best friend, and then let out a longer, more prolonged sigh, and fell back onto the bed, covering her face with a pillow. "Goddammit."

"Dupain-Cheng get back out here!" Alya laughed, trying to yank the pillow out of Marinette's hands.

"Nooooo." Marinette moaned, clinging to said pillow defiantly. She peeked out from behind it when Alya stopped pulling, but when she saw Alya's huge grin, she just groaned and smothered herself again.

Alya laughed and rubbed her head. She beckoned to Trixx who cheerfully flew over. "A shame Marinette. I had someone to introduce to you."

Marinette reluctantly poked her head out. "Who could you possibly-" Marinette froze. There was a kwami. A kwami that most definitely wasn't Tikki.

"This is Trixx." Alya said, grinning. Trixx waved at Marinette cheerfully. Marinette stared. Three seconds laters, birds a block away leapt off of their perches and flew off, startled by the screech that had come from the Cesaire house.

XxXxXxXxXx

 _M: I can NOT believe you didn't tell me._

 _A: … What?_

 _M: ALYA_

 _IS THE FOX_

 _WIELDER  
abdkfjdfjds_

 _A: Oh you found out! Good! :D_

 _M: Ugggggggh_

 _A: ….. Not good?_

 _M: No it's great! Just.._

 _She had to fight an akuma by herself last night._

 _Because I'm an idiot._

 _A: What? What happened?_

 _M: Can we call? You said you had something you wanted to say something anyways right?_

 _A: Erm no I don't think so_

 _In the middle of a shoot._

 _Oh wait nvm. Chris says he wants me to._

XxXxXxXxXx

Adrien pressed his phone to his ear and listened to the ringing. "You sure you're okay with this?" He asked Chris, looking over at the photographer, who was removing a flash from his camera. Chris smirked and flashed a thumbs up. Adrien was slightly confused by his antics, but shrugged it off.

It was at that point that Marinette picked up. "Hey kitty." She said.

"Hey princess." Adrien murmured. He made a shooing gesture to Chris, who was giving him a knowing look. "How are you doing?"

"I'm still hungover." She said. Adrien chuckled. "Isn't it like midnight there?" She asked. "Why are you two doing a shoot now?"

"Oh right!" Adrien said, looking around him. "So we're in this bookstore. It's _huge._ It's called Powell's Books and it closed an hour ago. Chris got permission to shoot in here forever ago apparently." He heard a few clicks and glanced up. Chris just motioned for him to keep talking, and moved into a different position.

"Well that's neat." Marinette said. Adrien could practically feel her smile through the phone, and his heart ached. He wanted to see it.

"So that thing you said about Alya?" Adrien asked.

"Oh right. So, I.. Kind of let myself go last night." Marinette said, sounding guilty. "As in I don't really remember any of it. I had way too much. Apparently I called Alya 'Chaton' after she kissed my hand, and then outed myself as Ladybug."

Adrien let out a bark of laughter, leaning against one of the bookcases. He was dimly aware of several clicks coming from Chris and his camera, but he was focusing on Mari. "Blabbermouth drunk Marinette returns!" He teased. "How you managed to keep the secret for so long I will never know."

"Honestly neither do I." Marinette admitted. "It's a good thing I'd already decided to tell her though."

"That is true. But what did you mean she had to defeat… Do the thing by herself?"

Marinette sighed. "So I was passed out in her bed and an akuma showed up. She went out to greet it and from what Tikki told me, she escaped by the skin of her teeth. He was wielding machetes and he almost got her. So I've been feeling guilty for the last few hours. Apparently Tikki freaking _ate_ the akuma _._ "

Adrien burst out laughing. "She _ate_ it?" He imagined the little kwami flying after the purple butterfly with her mouth wide open and relapsed into giggles.

Marinette giggled a bit as well. "Yeah I know can you believe it? It's absolutely ridiculous."

"And it worked?" Adrien asked.

"Apparently." Marinette replied, sighing. "Makes you wonder why she even needs me."

"It's probably easier for her to channel the magic that way." he reasoned. He glanced up and Chris was staring at his camera with a victorious grin. He noticed Adrien looking at him and just shot him a wink. Adrien rolled his eyes.

"I also had a really bizarre dream." Marinette said.

"Oh? Do tell." Adrien prompted, curiosity piqued.

Marinette hummed thoughtfully and spoke. "I dreamed I was a past Ladybug, and that I was trying to arrest a man, but a person assassinated them before I could."

"That just sounds interesting." Adrien chuckled. "How was it weird?"

"I didn't really have control over what I was saying or doing." Marinette said. "Anytime I spoke, the past Ladybug's voice came out saying whatever was going to be said."

"Huh." Adrien said, mulling it over.

"Yeah, it's like I was in a movie." Marinette said, laughing a bit.

"Or a memory." Adrien murmured. "Maybe you should ask Tikki?"

"Yeah I was planning on it anyway." She said. "She's currently sleeping in my bag. I think purifying the akuma by herself wore her out."

"Can I see?" Adrien asked.

Marinette laughed at the somewhat strange request, but sent him a photo. Tikki was indeed snuggled in Marinette's bag, cuddling a piece of fabric. "She's so cute." He said smiling.

"Yes she is." Marinette said contentedly. She let out a sigh, and Adrien heard her fall onto her bed. "Anyways kitty. What did you want to talk about yesterday?" Marinette asked.

"Oh. Right." Adrien was suddenly flooded with nerves. He took a deep breath and glanced up at Chris again, who gave him a nod and an encouraging smile. "So.. Princess. I have.. A Selfish request to make."

Marinette laughed and his heart lurched. "Knowing you it probably isn't. What is it?"

Adrien took a deep breath and forced the words out. "Will you be my girlfriend?"

There it was. The most selfish thing he could do. Asking her to wait. The thing he had sworn not to do one month prior. Ask her to wait for him. Chris, who had all but shoved him to this point, was watching him intently, not that Adrien noticed. For what felt like an eternity, Marinette didn't speak, and Adrien began to think that he'd made a grave mistake. Then she spoke.

"Yes." She whispered. "Yes please."

* * *

 _A/N: I hope you liked it! You did have to wait a little while for it. Hope this makes up for it. The next chapter should be coming out much sooner. So you shouldn't have to wait.. Er.. How long did you wait? I don't know. I could check but I'm finishing this at 1:30 in the morning. It's bedtime._

 _Also I would like to point out that I did actual freaking research for this. Charlotte Corday is real and she actually did that to that man. He was a scumbag I support her decision._

 _Thank you for reading, please let me know what you thought. Your comments really help me get my ass back in writing moods, so please do comment. I read all of your comments. You can also PM me. I'll get back to you. :)_

 _See you all soon. :)_

 _Until Next Time!_

 _~Nebilas~_


	19. Chapter 19

_A/N: Dark death near the end of this chapter. You've been warned._

 _Chapter 19: aka: Plagg is caring and helpful at the same time! Who knew?_

* * *

 **Chapter 19**

"Why did I let you be my friend?" Adrien asked Chris dryly. Chris laughed.

After Adrien and Marinette had hung up, Chris had leapt over to congratulate the model, and Adrien had thanked him profusely. A few weeks had passed since then, and the month of June was in full swing. It was a Friday, and the two young men were walking around downtown Portland, enjoying the sun. Chris had warned him that the sun would all but disappear after September, and both were determined to soak up as much sun as possible.

The two had gone out for lunch at a mexican restaurant, and then elected to kill time before Adrien had to go to a parkour session. It had been nearly two hours since then, and after Adrien had complained about sweating, Chris had made a passing comment on how Marinette would enjoy sweating together with him. It took Adrien five minutes to get the innuendo.

"You know you love me." Chris grinned. "When is your parkour again?" He asked, glancing at the model.

"Er… At 5?" Adrien replied, glancing at his watch. "And it's almost two thirty now."

Chris immediately took a sharp left. "So you've got time to kill. Let's get a drink."

"I like this plan." Adrien said, quickly following the blonde. The two selected a cafe a few blocks down, and elected to sit outside in the shade. Chris sighed contentedly as he took off his sunglasses and eyed the menu.

"How's your girl doing?" He asked, looking at Adrien across the table.

Adrien leaned back in his chair and sighed. "She's doing okay. Her best friend recently became her co-worker, so she's feeling better about that. How's yours?"

Chris sighed and raked his hand through his hair. "She's.. Okay. I think the distance is getting to her." Their conversation was briefly interrupted by the waiter asking what they wanted to drink.

Adrien frowned. "I'm sorry to hear that. Aren't you visiting soon?"

Chris nodded. "Yeah next week. I hope it goes okay. I guess I'll find out soon enough right?"

Adrien looked at his friend sadly. "You sure you'll be alright?"

Chris shrugged. "Probably. I get to kick the crap out of someone today so that'll be good for me." He laughed when Adrien gave him a dumbfounded look. "Kickboxing, Agreste. Self defense."

"Ohhh." Adrien said, relieved.

"Yeah. Actually do you want to go and learn?" Chris asked.

Adrien chuckled. "I think I'm covered in that department."

Chris suddenly looked interested. "Oh? Want to spar a few rounds?"

Adrien opened his mouth to say no, then paused. It _had_ been a while. He turned a lopsided grin on his friend. "I think that's a wonderful idea."

XxXxXxXxXx

 _A: I'm about to fight for the first time in like 6 weeks._

 _This is going to be ugly._

Marinette glanced down at her phone and blinked. She had just gotten back from patrol with Alya, (something she still was kind of freaking out over). She picked up the phone and began typing, munching on one of the crackers she had grabbed from downstairs.

 _M: Who are you fighting?_

 _And why?_

 _A: Chris asked if I wanted to go a few rounds. I accepted._

 _Apparently he kickboxes._

 _M: Fun! Don't hurt him too badly_

 _A: I won't I won't._

 _I want to point out I'm rusty, so if he kicks my ass I have an excuse._

 _We're about to go. I'll let you know how it goes!_

 _M: Have fun Chaton._

 _I think I'm going to bed pretty soon, so if i don't respond, I'm asleep. Love you._

Marinette set down her phone and sighed. She eyed her bed warily. She was starting to fall asleep, but her dreams of late had been confusing, and had been feeling more and more realistic as time went on. She had been having more and more dreams of past Ladybugs, and she wasn't quite sure what to make of it. Tikki had said it was something that happened whenever Chat was far away from her, but had assured her that they were just dreams. Nothing more.

Marinette was almost certain she was lying. She couldn't blame Tikki for it. Not really. The past wasn't her business, but it kind of stung when she realized that Tikki didn't entirely trust her. She forced herself to stand and moseyed over to the bathroom to brush her teeth before bed.

When she disappeared into the bathroom, Tikki paused mid bite and looked at the bathroom door sadly. She knew what Marinette was going through was her fault. She also knew that she had been lucky so far. None of Marinette's dreams had developed into the nightmares she knew could come at any time.

The fact that this could change as soon as tonight had been enough to set Tikki on edge for the past few nights. She decided to try and open her mind to Plagg. She needed someone to talk to.

 _Plagg?_ A few seconds later, he replied.

 _Hey Tikki. You okay?_

 _The memories are leaking through to Marinette._

… _That's not good._

 _No it isn't. There haven't been any nightmares yet, but-_

 _But that could change at any time. Have you told her?_

… _No._ Tikki admitted. She winced as she felt a flash of annoyance from her counterpart.

 _You should do that. Now rather than later. What if she sees what happened to Vanessa?_

Tikki shuddered. That was the one thing she didn't want Marinette to see under any circumstances. _I know.. I'm just not ready._

 _You'd better get ready. She's going to keep asking and you know it._

 _I know._

 _Good._

 _I think I'm gonna sleep. I'll talk to you later._

 _.. Ok. Goodnight Tikki._

 _Night Plagg._

With that, she cut off the connection, and finished her cookie with one huge bite. When Marinette left the bathroom, she felt a stab of guilt, but pushed it away. As long as they weren't nightmares, Marinette didn't need answers. She was just getting glimpses of some of the happier ones.

"Goodnight Tikki." Marinette said as she slid into bed.

"Goodnight Marinette." Tikki murmured as Mari turned off her lamp. "Sweet dreams." Marinette let out a skeptical noise. Tikki couldn't blame her. She didn't believe herself either.

XxXxXxXxXx

"Ready to get your ass kicked Agreste?" Chris called. Adrien put his phone down and glanced over at his friend, who was standing on the edge of a mat.

Adrien stood and walked over, brimming with confidence. Sure it had been awhile, but he was a superhero. He'd be fine. He reached the mat and put on the protective gloves that Chris also had. He settled into a fighting stance and Chris did the same, grinning all the while.

"Rules!" An instructor announced. "Don't play dirty."

"Is that all?" Adrien laughed.

"Pretty much." Chris said, smiling broadly, putting in his mouthguard. Adrien had been given a new one, and thus put in his as well.

"Round One!" The instructor said. "Fight!"

Adrien moved first, taking a step right. Chris followed him quickly, and the two began to circle each other. Adrien narrowed his eyes. Chris seemed intent on making Adrien throw the first strike. So he did. He quickly ducked in and threw a punch at his side. Chris batted it away and threw a left cross at his head, which Adrien ducked.

Adrien backed up and frowned. This was different than an akuma fight. Akumas had long ranged weapons he had to contend with. This was just a person. A person who was apparently very comfortable with what he could do. Adrien forced his mind back to the present as Chris suddenly closed in, and swung a kick at him. Adrien blocked it on reflex, and swung a haymaker at his head in response, which Chris ducked in his turn. Instead of retreating though, Chris pursued Adrien across the mat, throwing jabs and kicks at him as he went. Adrien took a few light hits to the chest, but otherwise came out unscathed.

The two stayed like this for a few minutes, trading blows and counters, but nobody had landed anything significant as of yet. The first round was drawing to a close, at least according to the timer, when Adrien threw a kick. Chris blocked it with his hand, and then got off a snap kick directly into Adrien's ribs. The small following gasped and cheered as Adrien staggered to the side. Chris swept in, ready to finish him, but the timer went off. The people watching groaned.

"Damn." Chris said good-naturedly. "Had you there."

Adrien took a deep breath, relieved that his ribs didn't appear to be fractured. "You're good." He said, grabbing water.

"So are you." Chris replied, taking a drink of his own. "Probably shouldn't hit your face though. That'll be hard to explain."

"Boys can you lose the shirts?" An instructor called. "We have a photographer, and it'll look good for us."

"I'd really rather not." Adrien said nervously.

"I would." Chris laughed.

Adrien sighed. "Gimme a minute to think about it." Without letting anyone say anything else, he walked over to his bag. Plagg was giggling at him.

"That kick fucked you up kid." Plagg said.

"Shut up." Adrien muttered. "They want me to take my shirt off."

"And you can't because of the scars." Plagg said flatly.

"Right." Adrien sighed. "Any chance you could get rid of them?" He asked sarcastically. He glanced at Plagg who was suddenly looking thoughtful. "Can you?" He asked, stunned.

"Not all of them. This might not even work.. But. Let's go to the bathroom. And kid. Would you even want me to? They are a part of you."

Adrien nodded furiously. "Hey Chris? I'll be right back." He pointed to the bathroom and Chris gave him a thumbs up. It was all Adrien could do to prevent himself from running there. When he got there, Plagg flew out of his shirt.

"Take it off." He commanded. Adrien did so hastily. Plagg closed his eyes in concentration, when he suddenly began to glow green. He flew towards Adrien and paused. "Are there any you want to keep?"

Adrien glanced down at himself. There were so many he could hardly remember which was which. He was also tempted to say no. But he knew exactly what he wanted to keep. "The big one on my shoulder and chest, the one on my hip, and the fracture in my back. If it takes too much, you don't have to get rid of all of the tiny ones either."

Plagg gave him a look. "You want the scar that your father dug into your hip because you went to the police?"

Adrien returned the look. "I want to remember." He said evenly.

Plagg stared at him, but then smirked and nodded approvingly. He took a deep breath and put his paws on Adrien's chest. Adrien gasped as he felt the magic from Plagg surge through him. He gasped as he watched himself in the mirror. The abundance of scar tissue that was on his body was vanishing, bit by bit.

When Plagg finished, he dropped out of the air from sheer exhaustion. Adrien caught him on impulse.

"You owe me so much camembert." The kwami grumbled.

Adrien didn't respond. He was staring at himself in the mirror. He touched his chest, half afraid he'd still be able to feel them. But he couldn't. He kept staring. He couldn't remember the last time he had looked at himself shirtless and not felt repulsed in some way.

"Thank you." He murmured to Plagg. He glanced down at the cat kwami, who was staring at him with his green eyes. Plagg simply nodded.

"You deserve it kid."

It was at this point that they realized that he had been gone for too long, and thus Adrien wandered back out of the bathroom, sans a shirt. He was greeted by a wolf whistle coming from the mats. Some other members and instructors either laughed at Chris or checked Adrien out themselves.

"Shit Adrien." Chris laughed. "You are shredded."

Adrien, suddenly feeling very Chat Noir like, flexed in various poses, causing Chris to double over in laughter. While Chris took off his shirt, Adrien threw on the gloves again, wondering if Chris would ask about the scars. He imagined so. _In some ways, that boy is more curious than Alya._ He thought dryly, glancing over. Chris got back to the mats, grinning all the while.

"Ready Agreste?" He asked, reaching a glove out, smirking all the while.

Adrien tapped the glove with his own, a grin on his face. "Come get some."

XxXxXxXxXx

"Frickin' hell Agreste, you get off a mean right cross." Chris said, holding his side gingerly.

Adrien cocked an eyebrow and gave him an unsympathetic look. "You upended me with a sweep kick and also got off two more kicks to my ribs."

Chris shrugged, grinning unapologetically. "You're a hell of a fighter though. How'd you learn?"

Adrien shrugged back, trying to think of a viable excuse. "Self taught mostly. I've always had a good reaction time, and my dad put me in fencing, but other than that, it was just me and Marinette going at each other, teaching ourselves how to defend ourselves."

Chris looked impressed. "Not bad." He said. "Did you ever fight anyone besides her?"

 _Yeah mind controlled people because I'm a superhero._ Adrien thought dryly. "I mean a few people."

Chris nodded, and then stopped as they reached an intersection. "Can I ask a question?" He asked pulling out a water bottle and taking a drink.

"Shoot." Adrien said, rummaging through his bag for his own water bottle, which he found.

Chris sighed. "Look it's probably none of my business. But when you were asking Marinette to be your girlfriend.."

"Yeah?" Adrien prompted, taking a sip of his water.

"You said something about magic."

Adrien inhaled an choked on his drink. "Uh.. N-No don't think so."

"You sure?" Chris asked, looking at him skeptically.

"Yeah pretty sure." Adrien said, forcing a laugh.

"Liar liar pants on fire." Came a sing-songy voice. Adrien cringed, and Chris dropped his water bottle. Plagg flew out of Adrien's bag and hovered in between the two.

"Sup. Name is Plagg, God of destruction, hi how ya doin?" Chris blinked, then looked at Adrien.

"Was… That a Hercules reference?" He asked, looking somewhat pale.

Adrien sighed. "Yeah, I showed him a few disney movies and he thought Hades was hilarious."

"Well he's not wrong." Chris muttered.

"Is that really what you're focusing on?" Plagg asked, looking amused. "Not the floating cat god?"

"I'm getting there." Chris said defensively. "So.. You're Chat Noir." He said, looking at Adrien.

"Yeah." Adrien said.

Chris nodded a few times to himself then shook his head. "Okay so let me get this straight. I am friends with Chat Noir?" Adrien nodded. "I've been taking photos of Chat Noir." Nod. "I got a snap kick off against Chat Noir." Nod. Chris looked bemused. Then he nodded to himself some more. "Cool."

"Ugh. Boring reaction." Plagg scoffed and went back into Adrien's bag.

Chris looked at Adrien with raised eyebrows. "Is he always like this?"

"Actually he had a good day." Adrien laughed. The light turned green, and the two crossed the street, walking in a comfortable silence.

"So are those scars from that?" Chris asked after a few minutes.

Adrien smiled. He still couldn't quite believe that nearly all of his scars were gone. "Two of them are. Both are from times I should have died. Arrow to the back, and then somebody who tried to erase me from existence."

Chris winced. "Do they not like you much?" He asked.

"Actually I was classmates with both of them." Adrien laughed.

Chris stared at him in disbelief. "You're joking right?"

Adrien grinned. "Not at all."

"France is weird." Chris muttered.

"Only Paris has the supervillain." He replied, grinning at Chris, who could only shake his head.

XxXxXxXxXx

Marinette was tired of this. Very. Very. Tired. She was in another dream. _Where are we going this time?_ She wondered with mock excitement, as she followed Chat. "Where are we going?" She shouted. _Ask and ye shall receive._

"You'll see!" Chat laughed. Mari sighed. It tugged at her heart a little more each night. How she could see a Chat Noir every night, and still not have it be hers. Chat disappeared into a building, and she slowed, before following him inside.

"Chat?" She called. It was pitch black in the building, and she frowned.

"Ladybug." Came a voice that most definitely did not belong to Chat Noir. She was instantly in a defensive stance, ready to defend herself. A lamp was lit in the gloom, and she realized she was surrounded.

"Who are you?" She snarled.

The man grinned. "Chat Noir, why don't you greet your lady?" He prompted. Marinette's stomach dropped. Chat Noir stepped out of the shadows, staring at her with a malicious tint in his yellow eyes.

"Chat?" She asked nervously, taking a half step back.

The man laughed. "Oh he can't hear you. I'm afraid we're controlling him."

"With what?" Ladybug spat.

The man pulled out a butterfly pendant and grinned. "Does this look familiar?"

"I'm going to flay you." Ladybug hissed.

The man's grin grew wider. "Wrong. Chat Noir?" There was a tense moment of silence as Ladybug waited for the man to give the order to kill her. "Kill yourself."

This time, it wasn't just Ladybug who screamed 'No'. It wasn't just the past Ladybug leaping to stop her partner as he reached up to his throat with his claws. It wasn't just the past Ladybug who felt a bullet go through her leg. It wasn't just Ladybug who watched Chat Noir slice his own throat, and bleed and convulse in front of her. And it wasn't just Ladybug who felt her chest get blown open by another bullet.

Marinette saw and felt it all, and she woke up screaming.

* * *

 _A/N: Heh. SOOO that happened. Good times. Happy times. Also Adrien doesn't have his scars anymore!_

 _Also I kind of headcannoned that every time an akuma did something super serious to Chat (aka, shot him in the back (Dark Cupid) or you know erased him from existence (Time Breaker)) wherever he got touched just gets split open and scars rather horribly. So yeah, he kept those three. He needs to put the abuse behind him basically. That's what he's doing in my mind if that makes any sense. He's accepted it as part of him, and doesn't want to forget but damn it if he can get rid of those scars he's gonna do it in a heartbeat._

 _I hope you liked. Lemme know what you thought. I'll post this at not 1:20 am on the Pacific Coast. Well... Maybe I will I don't know. (Le shrug)_

 _Comments please. I love me some comments. :D_

 _Until Next Time!_

 _~Nebilas~_

Also! Kind of a random thing but would anybody want to Beta Read chapters for me? My previous beta-reader was my girlfriend and we.. Aren't talking any more. So.. If you're interested please let me know through a PM. :3 Thank you!


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

Marinette was angry.

Anger was an emotion that was often foreign to the young woman, but at this particular moment it was radiating off of her. Her eyes were currently doing their best to bore holes into a certain Ladybug kwami, who was going against every instinct in her body telling her to fly away as fast as she could.

When Marinette had awoken screaming, her parents had both come running, fearing an akuma. They relaxed when they discovered it wasn't, but their relief was short lived when they realized their daughter had tears streaming down her face. Thirty minutes and many reassurances later, Tom and Sabine reluctantly returned to their own room, but not before supplying Marinette with hot chocolate and cookies in the hopes of comforting her after their departure.

Marinette's calm demeanor vanished fifteen seconds after her parents closed her trapdoor, and fury had surged within her. She'd rounded on Tikki who'd come out of hiding, and the Ladybug kwami was seriously questioning her life choices. She had been hoping to put this conversation off as long as possible, but now faced with the stark reality of her chosen's anger, she reflected that keeping the truth from her about the dreams may not have been the best idea.

Marinette folded her arms and scowled. "So are you going to actually tell me the truth now? We both know that wasn't 'just a dream', as you put it two weeks ago." Tikki winced, her guilt written all over her face.

She took a shaky breath, wishing she had something to hide behind. "So as I said," she began, "When Plagg moves far away from me, my chosen starts to have dreams."

"Except they aren't dreams." Marinette said stiffly.

"No." Tikki admitted. "They're real."

Marinette huffed. "And you didn't tell me this because.." She trailed off and looked at the kwami accusingly.

"I was scared." Tikki admitted. "I didn't see the harm in not telling you either, so long as the nightmares weren't popping up."

"So you knew I would start having nightmares?" Marinette demanded, leaping to her feet angrily.

Tikki cowered on her bed, pressing herself into the corner. "No!" She squeaked out. "Well, yes, but I didn't know when!"

Marinette raised an eyebrow, unimpressed with the kwami's defense. "I could have used a little warning before watching Chat Noir rip his own throat out and getting shot." Marinette's anger seemed to ebb, and she placed a hand over her chest, where the bullet had torn through the past Ladybug. "It _hurt_ Tikki." She murmured, refusing to look at the kwami. "I felt all of it. The bullets, the fear.. The heartbreak."

The two remained silent for a few moments, letting everything wash over them. The house was now silent, which even at this hour could be considered a rare occurrence. Marinette's eyes slid closed, letting herself be dragged back into the memory. The bullets ripping through her had felt so _real._ Watching Chat Noir bleed out in front of her as she herself faded.. It was horrific. Something her own personal nightmares had refused to come up with. Even now, imagining Adrien in that position, she felt like she could throw up.

"Diana." Marinette's eyes snapped open. "Her name was Diana." Tikki murmured. "She was only seventeen when that.. Happened." Teary eyes met Marinette's, and Marinette felt like crying too. "Not all of them got happy endings Marinette. A lot make it through. A lot don't. It's why Plagg tries to desensitize himself. He pretends not to care for his chosens, in the hope that if they die he won't be as affected. I don't have that luxury. I care for all of them. Some.. Some more than others, but.." She trailed off, glancing away. "I just wanted to spare you I think. I already had to live through it. I thought maybe if you didn't know, maybe it wouldn't happen. It's naive of me I know, but I always hope that I can spare my chosens from loss. I've experienced enough to last lifetimes. I just-" She began to choke on her words, tears now streaming from her eyes. "I just can't lose you too. Not you."

Marinette scooped Tikki up and held the crying kwami to her chest. She cooed softly, trying to reassure her kwami she wasn't going anywhere. Tikki fell asleep soon after that, emotionally exhausted. Marinette sighed and glanced out the window. The sky was just beginning to show the first hints of color. Marinette reluctantly slid herself under her covers, keeping Tikki with her.

Even with the memory still fresh in her mind, she soon joined her kwami in sleep, unable to keep herself awake. Tikki would wake up first, and give her chosen a quick kiss on the forehead. Marinette had her first dreamless sleep in a month.

XxXxXxXx

Adrien let out a shriek as he plummeted towards the ground. He landed awkwardly, forcing himself into a roll, before allowing gravity to take hold of him. He lay on his back, breathing heavily, as an amused face peered down at him.

"You missed." Chris called out helpfully.

"Really? Hadn't noticed." Adrien retorted.

Chris chuckled and leapt off of the platform, landing far more gracefully than Adrien did. He offered a hand, which Adrien gratefully accepted.

The two were currently at a parkour gym, and Adrien was rusty to say the least. Chris on the other hand, went freerunning in his free time, which was something he'd neglected to mention when they'd walked in.

"Any other skills you've neglected to mention you possess?" Adrien asked dryly.

Chris chuckled. "I mean I picked up a guitar last week and I'm trying to learn, but other than that not really." He bent down to tie his shoe, which had come undone. "I'm decent at volleyball." He said as an afterthought.

"Impressive array of skills." Adrien complimented.

Chris smiled. "Thanks." He glanced up at the clock that adorned the wall. "Our two hours are up."

The two exited the large room and headed for their lockers. "You're headed out tonight right?" Adrien asked as he rummaged through his bag.

Chris nodded. "I am. My flight leaves at ten."

"Excited to see Amy?" Adrien asked, grinning.

Chris snorted. "Just a bit. It's only been several months." He hummed to himself thoughtfully as he pulled out his camera bag. "Kinda wish I could postpone it by a day though."

"How come?" Adrien asked, throwing on a sweatshirt.

Chris smirked. "Because then I could take pictures of you at the gala."

Adrien blanched. "I don't need pictures of me faking emotions from you. The paparazzi has it covered."

"Oh I forgot!" Chris exclaimed, diving into his bag. "There's an article about you!"

Adrien waved him off. "You know I never read those."

"Yes but this one is _amazing._ " Chris grinned, practically shoving the magazine into his hands. Adrien sighed, and glanced at the article title.

 _Adrien Agreste, New Life in America_

Adrien sighed. "Do I have to read this?" He asked pitifully.

"Just the caption of the second picture." Chris replied, grin getting wider.

Adrien's eyes roamed the page until the found the second photo, which was of him and Chris, chatting at a restaurant they'd had dinner at. He quickly found the caption and did a double take.

"I'm sorry _what?"_ He demanded, suddenly scouring the article. Chris began chortling as Adrien's face contorted in shock and confusion.

"You'd think they have other things to do than speculate on the sexual orientation of models, but apparently not." Chris commented, twirling his car keys around his finger.

"So they think we're an item." Adrien said, still in shock.

Chris grinned. "No no. 'Secret lovers'." He draped an arm over Adrien's shoulders, and lifted his other hand dramatically. "We are star crossed lovers, forced to hide our burning passion because Gabriel Agreste disapproves of your _true_ sexuality." He brought his hand to his chest, and let out a fake sob. "Such a harrowing and beautiful story." He sniffled.

Adrien laughed in spite of himself. "You're ridiculous." He eyed the article with distaste. "How did you find this anyways? You don't read this crap."

"Amy found it." Chris chuckled. "Or rather her friend did. Clara I think. Anyways, one of her friends found it and brought it to her. Apparently they both thought it was hysterical." He grinned and elbowed Adrien in the side. "As do I."

"You know who won't find this hilarious?" Adrien asked, tossing the magazine in the garbage.

XxXxXxXx

"Your father is displeased." Natalie stated.

Adrien rolled his eyes as he observed himself in the mirror. He had just finished putting on the tuxedo that he was expected to wear to the gala. "Let me guess. The magazine article reached him."

"Indeed." Natalie confirmed dryly, tapping her iPad. "Despite my assurances that you are not gay, your father has panicked. He has started searching for people who he believes would be good for your image."

Adrien sighed. "Please tell me there won't be one at the gala."

"You know I don't enjoy lying Adrien." Natalie replied, not bothering to look up.

Adrien groaned. "Who is she?"

"She's the daughter of one of your father's business associates. Angela Powers as I recall."

"So she's a model as well?" He deduced, unplugging his phone from the wall.

"She is."

Adrien scrutinized himself one last time before turning to Natalie. "Is she aware that I'm being put up to this?"

Natalie's ever tapping finger hesitated over the screen. "I'm not sure." She admitted after a few moments. "She's fluent in french though, I know that. So at the very least you'll be able to hold off on your english for a few conversations."

"Oh good." Plagg commented. "English gives me a headache. And Chris doesn't speak French."

"He's still bilingual." Adrien pointed out unsympathetically. "Talk to him in Spanish if it bothers you that much."

Plagg harrumphed and took a large bite out of the cheese sitting next to him. Adrien wasn't quite sure how the kwami was doing it, but somehow Plagg was chewing passive-aggressively.

"Alright come on you two, let's go." Natalie called, collecting her car keys.

Plagg quickly devoured the rest of his cheese before floating off of the nightstand and into Adrien's inner pocket. "I could just stay here." He mumbled.

"Do you want to?" Adrien asked.

"... No." he admitted reluctantly.

Adrien chuckled. "Then let's go."

Natalie was waiting in the car when Adrien walked outside. He slid into the passenger seat next to her and changed the radio station. "Alright let's go." The drive wasn't too long, in fact it only took fifteen minutes to get there, in which not one more word was exchanged.

Natalie didn't take it personally. She had been around Adrien long enough to know he didn't want to speak before these events. As they pulled up, she turned her gaze to the teen model, wanting to see his transformation. She'd seen it multiple times but it still fascinated her every time she witnessed it. Adrien took a deep breath and pulled down the sun visor from the ceiling of the car. He stared into its mirror and exhaled slowly. He schooled his expression into perfect neutrality, before flashing a brilliant smile into it. Then it was gone just as quickly as it had appeared. He rolled his shoulders and sat up a little straighter in the seat. He cleared his throat and smiled one last time, and then let himself be neutral.

"How do I look?" He finally asked, adjusting his bow-tie.

Natalie gave him a once-over and sighed sadly. "Flawless." She said.

Adrien's lip twitched up, and he shook his head, letting out a huff of bitter amusement. "So exactly how Dad wants?"

"Your hair is perfectly styled, your bowtie is on straight, and you looked neither overly pleased nor upset to be here." She listed off.

Adrien nodded to himself a few times, before closing the mirror and putting the sun visor back up. "Flawless." He murmured to himself. He opened the door, but then hesitated. "Natalie what would happen if.. I wasn't?"

Natalie's head snapped up and she stared at him. "You mean.."

"I mean.." Adrien swallowed nervously. "What if I said to hell with the facade?"

Natalie took a deep breath. "Your father would-"

"I don't _care_ what he thinks Natalie." Adrien said vehemently. "I haven't cared about impressing him in a long time. What if, just for once, I was.. Me?"

A smile began to grown on Natalie's face. "I think that's a wonderful idea." Adrien's face immediately relaxed, and he offered a much more natural smile than the ones he'd been practicing in the mirror. "Better." She complimented. Adrien pulled down the visor and flipped open the mirror. He ran a hand through his perfectly done hair and ruffled it. "Much better." Natalie said, smile growing even more. "You look like a blend between your two selves."

Adrien nodded. "That's what I was going for." He admitted. "Think it'll fly?"

"You look like a well dressed greek god, and Marinette is probably going to faint when she sees the pictures. Let's go." Plagg called from his pocket.

Adrien laughed. "Thanks Plagg." He again closed the sunvisor and grinned at Natalie.

Natalie gave him a smile. "Knock 'em dead kiddo."

"Thank you Natalie." Adrien said earnestly. He stepped out of the car, and Natalie heard the clamoring from the paparazzi, questions being shouted, cameras flashing. Then Adrien closed the door, and it was silent.

XxXxXxXx

Marinette took a deep breath, and observed the scene before her. "I would like to point out I was having a good day before this." She said to nobody in particular, stepping to the side as someone sprinted past her at breakneck speed.

"We need to transform Marinette." Tikki said worriedly, surveying the destruction in front of them.

"That does appear to be the current situation." Marinette said blandly, and she began strolling over to an alley.

"Um.. Marinette?"

"Mmhmm?" Marinette asked.

"Maybe pick up the pace?" Tikki asked. "Akuma and all that?"

Marinette sighed. "Sorry Tikki, I just.. I feel weird. Like something bad is about to happen."

Tikki looked at her, concerned. "I don't feel anything," She murmured "and I usually can when my chosens feel it."

"Maybe it's nothing." Marinette decided, though she didn't really believe it, and neither did Tikki.

A few minutes later, Ladybug was tearing through Paris, searching for the cause of the destruction. Buildings were in ruin, streets had fissures splitting through them, and nearly every car she encountered had been damaged in some way. As she rounded a corner, she felt the ground rumble beneath her, and she staggered, smacking into the wall. She growled and kept herself moving forward, going against the flow of civilians racing the opposite direction.

"Behold!" A voice thundered. "I am Neptune!" Marinette rounded one last corner and was greeted with an unwelcome sight. The akumatized person was hovering thirty feet off the ground, and had streams of water flowing around them. As Marinette watched, a trident formed in the akuma's hand, and he flung it to the ground. When it contacted, the ground rippled, and Marinette had to leap in order to avoid it.

With a growl, she propelled herself forward, hoping to end the fight before it truly started. Unfortunately, the akuma seemed to sense her, and he summoned a wall of water in her path, which she was unable to avoid. The water halted all of her momentum, and she dropped to the ground.

"Ladybug!" Neptune said smugly. "I might have known."

"Any chance we could talk this out?" She asked hopefully.

Neptune scowled at her. "Never! I must prove that the Roman Gods were an important part of history! I worked on that exhibit for _months."_ He growled. "And then he cancelled it! A week before opening!" He threw his head to the sky. "The city of Paris will feel the wrath of Neptune!" He roared, and it suddenly began to pour rain from the sky.

"Ah. Wonderful." Ladybug sighed. Neptune grinned and leveled his trident at her. Ladybug leapt out of the way as a jet of boiling water flew at her, scorching the ground where she'd been standing a moment before. Ladybug swung around the akuma at a frantic pace, trying to get in close enough to find what his possessed item could be, but between dodging the water blasts and the earthquakes when she was on the ground, she was too busy to make any progress.

She knew it was only a matter of time before she made a mistake, so she made a tactical retreat onto a nearby roof, hoping he would hold off from the earthquakes for a time. Neptune bellowed in anger when he realized he'd lost his target and swung off to his left, intent on causing mayhem. This caused another group of civilians to scurry out of cover and flee down the street. Marinette winced as he gleefully sent a jet of water, sweeping several people off their feet.

"We need a plan." Hissed a voice from behind her. Marinette glanced back.

"Glad you're here Rena." She murmured. "This one seems.. Fun."

"I noticed." Rena replied nervously, eyeing Neptune as he sent another geyser of water after some civilians. "Do you have a plan?"

"I'm working on it." Ladybug said tiredly. She put a hand to her head, trying to shake off the weird feeling she'd been feeling from the beginning.

"Ladybug?" Rena asked, becoming concerned for her friend. "Is something up?"

Marinette shook her head violently, trying to clear her thoughts even more. Her head was starting to throb. "It doesn't matter. I need you to create an illusion."

Rena nodded and pressed her flute to her lips. "Er.. Illusion of what exactly?" She asked awkwardly.

Marinette hissed in pain and clutched her head. "Rena so help me just do it _please."_

Rena looked contemplative before nodding. She blew three notes, crystal clear in the morning air, slicing through the shouts of Neptune.

"NEPTUNE!" A voice roared, shaking the building they were crouched on. Neptune whirled around and his face contorted in rage.

"Jupiter." He breathed. He pointed his trident at the illusion of the fifteen foot god who sneered at him.

"Come now brother mine." Jupiter taunted. "We both know you have no hope of winning this battle."

Neptune growled. "I know no such thing." He slammed his trident into the ground. "I will dethrone you if you stand in my way!"

Rena and Ladybug used this exchange to sneak behind Neptune, crouching behind a car as the two fake Roman deities shouted at each other.

"Where is the object?" Rena mused.

"My best guess would be the trident." Ladybug suggested. She gritted her teeth as her head began to throb in earnest. She violently shoved the pain to the back of her mind, and focused entirely on the task at hand.

"We should end this quickly." Rena murmured, wincing as Neptune slammed his trident to the ground in anger.

"Then let's get it." Ladybug growled. The two leapt from behind their cover, and sprinted towards the akuma. Marinette flung her yoyo perfectly, wrapping it around Neptune, who shouted in confusion, before realizing he'd been tricked. He made to slam his trident down, but Rena beat him to it, kicking him in the chest, sending him sprawling. He made to rise, but the yoyo prevented him, and he resorted to desperately thrashing against his bonds. Rena reached down and ripped the trident out of his grasp, before snapping it in half.

Sure enough, the akuma fluttered out, hovering around the akumatized man for a few moments, before trying to make a break for it. Marinette quickly released Neptune from her yoyo, and snatched the butterfly out of the air. "Gotcha." She smirked triumphantly. A few seconds later, a purified butterfly was flying off into the Parisian morning. "Goodbye little butterfly." She spat. She winced as her head reminded her of its presence. "Why do you still hurt?" She demanded of it. "I did the thing! I purified the akuma!"

"Ladybug?" Rena asked with a bit of trepidation. "Can we maybe take this somewhere else? You're beeping."

"Yeah, good idea." Marinette replied, realizing that she was in fact running out of time. "Meet at mine?"

"Will do." Rena agreed, turning to help the man who had been Neptune.

Marinette turned and began to head back to her house, hoping she would get home before Tikki dropped the transformation. Her head had started to calm down a bit, but it still sent the occasional stab of pain through her skull and she didn't appreciate it in the least. She reached her balcony and slid inside her room, dropping her transformation and flopping onto her bed with a groan.

Tikki zoomed over to the cookie stash and began chomping away. It took another ten minutes for Alya to show up, during which Marinette did not move or speak. She simply lay there breathing, with the horrible feeling still looming over her for no discernible reason.

"Hey." Alya greeted, shedding her transformation as well. Trixx flew across the room to join Tikki. "What was with you today?" She asked bluntly, settling herself on the bed next to her best friend.

"I don't know." Marinette murmured despondently. "Just a feeling."

"What kind of feeling?" Alya asked, confused.

"The gut-feeling kind." Tikki called from her corner. "My chosens often have that.. Well I wouldn't say 'ability' per se, but they can sense when something is off, or if something is brewing."

"It's different though." Marinette whispered, almost to herself.

Alya looked perplexed. "So you have a feeling that something bad is going to happen, and it's causing you actual pain?"

"That has also happened before." Trixx called out helpfully.

"You sure you didn't get hit?" Alya asked, not entirely willing to believe that nothing could be done about Marinette's situation.

Marinette groaned as another stab of pain hit her. "No.. No it isn't that." Her head snapped up with a sudden realization. "Something already _has_ happened."

Alya frowned. "Well if that's true, it didn't happen to us."

XxXxXxXx _3 Hours Earlier_

"It was lovely to meet you as well Mr. Bishop." Adrien said politely, shaking the man's hand, before turning around and heading to the bar. He approached, humming softly to himself as the bartender gave him a wary eye.

"Do you have ID sir?" The bartender asked.

"No need." Adrien reassured him. "I'm here for lemonade." The bartenders expression cleared and he gave Adrien an almost grateful smile, before turning to find the drink.

Adrien leaned against the bar, casually surveying the ballroom. The location itself was beautiful. Large crystal chandeliers adorned the hall, illuminating the room beautifully. Many people stood off in groups, chatting away about their businesses, or in some cases gossip, if the inconspicuous stares around the room were any indication. To Adrien's right was the dance floor, where a few people were dancing rather stiffly in his opinion. The dance had an almost eerie feel about it. The dancers all moved as one, swaying back and forth with flawless precision.

"Your drink Mr. Agreste." Adrien didn't bother to ask how the bartender knew his name.

He turned back and collected his lemonade, handing him a ten dollar tip which the man happily took. Adrien sighed into his drink, happy to have a few moments alone from the chaos of fashion buffs trying to make connections. As much as he admired fashion and the work that went into it, the logistics bored him to tears. He would happily skip over the finances and meetings just to get a conversation with a passionate designer. Like his girlfriend.

Adrien took a long drink of his lemonade, wishing that there was alcohol in it instead. He let out one last self pitying sigh and resisted the urge to pull out his phone and text her. He was all too aware of the potential ramifications that came with pulling out a phone at these gatherings.

"That was quite the sigh." An amused voice said from his left. Adrien turned and found a young woman with curly brown hair grinning at him. If Adrien had to guess, he'd say they were about the same age. Her hair was perfectly styled to accentuate her facial features which drew attention to her eyes, a startling blue. "Not enjoying yourself?" She queried.

Adrien took another drink. "Not as much as I would like. If I were enjoying myself I wouldn't have to wish I was 21."

She giggled in agreement, before catching the bartender's attention. "Shirley Temple please."

Adrien cocked a brow. "Not legal either then?"

"I am in Europe." She replied. "I just spent a few months in France. It was nice to be able to order drinks whenever. Not that I'm an alcoholic." She said, rushing to assure him.

Adrien chuckled. "Adrien Agreste." He said, offering a hand.

She shook it. "Angela Powers."

Any good mood Adrien might have found suddenly vanished without a trace. This was her. The girl that his father wanted him to date. Angela took in his frown, and her smile faded into nervousness.

"I.. Take it you've heard of me?" She asked worriedly.

"Model wise no." Adrien confessed. "But uh.." He sighed and raked a hand through his hair. "This is hard to explain. You know who my father is yes?" Angela nodded. "So, he kinda sucks."

Angela giggled, but then seemed to realize that Adrien was being serious. "How so?" She asked.

"Who suggested you come talk to me?" Adrien asked bluntly.

"My father. Why what are you-" Angela stopped as she realized what he was implying. "I'm gonna flay him." She growled.

"As entertaining as that would be," Adrien said, grabbing Angela's arm with a grin, "I think we should actually talk."

Angela eyed him suspiciously. "About what?"

Adrien put his hands up in a surrendering position. "Just talk? Get to know each other better?"

"Try to woo me?" Angela asked dryly.

Adrien shook his head vehemently. "No. I promise. I was just hoping to speak to someone my own age here."

"Hmph." Angela sniffed, doubt etched on her face, but she relented. Forty-five minutes later, the two were still talking, and both had long forgotten their father's attempted manipulations.

"And then she dumped it in the pool!" Angela proclaimed, laughing.

"No!" Adrien gasped. "What happened then?"

"Oh she threw a total hissy fit. It was incredible." Angela said, coming down from her giggles.

"That's amazing." Adrien laughed. "I wish I could've seen it."

"There's a party next week." Angela suggested. "Do you want to go?"

"Hell yes I want to!" Adrien said, as though it were obvious.

Angela grinned "Sweet! Here, I'll give you my number." Adrien pulled out his phone, fairly certain that if somebody saw it in this context, his father would approve.

"So.." Angela said, eyeing him. "Are you single?"

Adrien choked on his drink. "I'm sorry, I thought you weren't interested." He teased after recovering.

Angela flushed. "I'm not!" She protested. "Truth be told you're not really my type." She admitted, blush growing.

"I'm not?" Adrien pouted. He wasn't disappointed, in fact he was rather glad, but he'd certainly never been told he was.. Unattractive.

"Wait! No that sounds bad!" Angela spouted, quickly backtracking. "It's just.. I.." She sighed and looked back over where she had come from. Adrien followed her gaze. His eyes fell on another girl around their age, possibly a little older. She gave a timid wave to Angela who waved back.

Adrien gave Angela a smile. "So you two are-"

"No!" Angela hissed, clapping a hand over his mouth. "Nobody knows. She doesn't know either."

Adrien's mouth dropped. "Nobody?"

Angela shuffled awkwardly. "My father has.. Expectations. He's been pressuring me to get a boyfriend for a good while. And.. I wouldn't say he's homophobic, but I.. I don't know." She looked back across the room forlornly.

"What's her name?" Adrien asked, smiling comfortingly.

"Mackenzie." Angela replied softly. She looked at Adrien nervously. "Are you.. Not going to freak out?"

"No." Adrien said, confused. "Why would I?"

Angela let out a sigh of relief. "I don't know. I didn't even plan on telling you honestly." She scrutinized him. "I think you just have one of those faces."

Adrien chuckled. "So I've been told." The two stood in comfortable silence for a few moments. "You should tell her." He blurted.

Angela whirled on him. "What?"

"You trust her right?"

Angela frowned. "Well yes but-"

"You love her right?"

Angela blushed. "W-well I wouldn't say l-love but-"

Adrien grinned. "Is she homophobic?"

"What? No!"

"Then what's the danger?" Adrien asked logically.

"She could say no, for one." Angela grumbled. "And I don't want to lose her as a friend."

Adrien snorted. He'd had this exact same conversation with himself many a time. "That was my excuse too."

"Do you have a girlfriend?" Angela asked, suddenly looking interested.

Adrien hesitated, and then sighed. "How good are you with secrets?"

Angela looked surprised by the question. "I.. I don't know. I don't go blabbing things to the paparazzi if that's what you mean. I like to think I'm good with secrets. Certainly my own."

Adrien stared at her, contemplating. If she was telling the truth, she could be very helpful, but if not, it could be disastrous. "Alright. Come with me."

Adrien led her to an empty conference room, and shut the door behind them.

"So.. What's so important?" Angela asked, curiosity well and truly piqued.

"This doesn't leave the room."

"Yes yes." Angela said, crossing her heart with an eyeroll.

"I do have a girlfriend." Angela grinned, and looked like she was going to start demanding to see pictures, so cut her off. "My father doesn't approve. And by 'doesn't approve', I mean he's demanded I say I'm single before dating someone else."

Angela eyed him, before sitting down on one of the many chairs strewn about the room. "Your dad _does_ suck." Adrien shrugged in response. "But why'd you drag me in here?" She asked quizzically. "I didn't drag you in here for my secret."

Adrien sighed. "I can't afford anyone overhearing it. There would be.. Consequences. Real, serious consequences."

Angela frowned. "Such as.." She let it hang, expecting him to fill in the gaps.

Adrien shuffled nervously. "It's.. I can't. I can't talk about it."

Angela crossed her arms and frowned. "Alright. If it's that serious I'll let it go."

"Thank you." Adrien said, relieved. The two stayed in the room for a few more minutes, idly chatting, until Adrien excused himself to go to the bathroom. "I'll be back." He promised. "You can introduce me to Mackenzie." Angela smiled and nodded, and the two exited the room and walked back into the ballroom.

Adrien's phone buzzed in his back pocket, and he pulled it out. He opened it, and his face lit up with pleasure.

 _M: Bonjour minou._

Adrien smiled as he sent a good morning text back. Had he been paying more attention to his surroundings, he might have noticed the group that entered the hall. A group wearing black suits, sunglasses, and masks. His first warning that they were there were the two gunshots and the screams that pierced the air.

* * *

 _A/N: For clarification, the text from Marinette comes before the fight with Neptune. :) If I edited I could make that obvious, but I won't because it took moe forever to get this chapter okay for me in my head so wheeeee._

 _So yeah this chapter is super long for me. Easily the longest of this story, maybe the longest I've ever posted. It wasn't supposed to be, it just kinda ended up like that. Whoops. I could probably divide it in half if I wanted. Idk gimme your feedback._

 _It's 2:30 as I write this. My head hurts, and I have work tomorrow. I'm a fucking idiot, and I'm going to bed now. I hope you like._

 _If you do, PUNCH THAT LIKE BUTTON IN THE FACE, wait no that's a different thing._

 _Oh well._

 _Follow, fave, ow my head frick, Comment please, i need feedback. It helps._

 _Until Next Time!_

 _~Nebilas~_


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